Carnival - A sweet it sweet so!
By Shawn Seabrookes
Senior Reporter – SKNVibes.com
{Basseterre; St. KItts} Carnival in St. Kitts is sweet, sweet , sweet! The soca music blaring, the big drum resonating, the fife music piercing the air, the thrashing of the clatter, the rhythmic music of the steel pan, the chants of the masquerades, the running of the “bull”, the animation of the mummies and the cherished art of calypso are components that have accentuated the festival.
Carnival 2007-2008 will be the 36th edition and the ingenious merger of Carnival with the Christmas Season- an experience unique to St. Kitts- has forever enhanced the festival’s brand and added to the appeal of the affair.
Traditionally, the official festival lasts for ten days but the fringe activities span much longer, as residents would be the first to tell you that they need the warm up and the cool down.
Indeed, the entire Carnival is a brilliant display of colours and it is the ideal stage for revellers to perform after they have been immersed in the depths of the sweet music.
Excitement, ecstasy and shrieks of pure exhilaration are just some of the existing moods as residents and visitors absorb the masquerade display. The uptempo beat of the snare drums, the steady boom boom of the bass drum and the unmistakable sound of the fife are definitely gripping and it is not a question of whether the combination of bets is able to grip you but the challenge is keeping up with the thrilling grasp of the action.
Children- sometimes adults too- darting from the sidewalks generally mean one thing, the bull is close. It is just another rich part of the culture that has trickled through the ages to define the island’s distinct Carnival brand.
Whoops! The bull has just gotten an injection and it is going on “bad.” The people scatter! Yes, such is the fun. It is in the chase.
“Mercy me, look at how the young lady going on!” a voice is heard.
A wry smile creeps across the face as that means the soca, calypso and steel pan music have leaped across the streets and blanketed the masses.
Music is just another staple of the Carnival and it seemingly possesses everyone, from the young to those playing young! Waists gyrate, hands fly about, feet jumping and everybody chanting with the music. That is the power of the music! The people just cannot help but “wuk up.”
The combination of Carnival and Christmas does not only yield the dancing, and costumes and masquerades. It transforms Basseterre into a melting pop of locals and visitors.
“City sidewalks, busy sidewalks,” the popular tune so rightly surmises.
People dash here to buy presents, dash there to register for Carnival troupes, hustle here to make one last Christmas shopping for groceries, run there to purchase some “drinks” or just lazy away on Fort Street- the centre of activities.
Yes indeed, it is Carnival and Christmas, or for others it is Christmas and Carnival. Any way you put it, the merger has definitely changed the social landscape of the island.
The plane loads come, the bus loads come and the car loads pull up. Everyone wants to be involved in the action.
~~Adz:Left~~From the J’ouvert jam, to the National Carnival Queen Pageant and other shows to the Parade of Troupes and the Last Lap “wuk up”, the action is just scintillating.
As the theme so boldly proclaims “It’s gonna be great….Carnival 2007-2008.”
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