BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - EVERYONE was told to "Set U Self and Come", and that is just what they did yesterday morning (Apr. 21) when revellers flocked Sandy Point for the fourth edition of Black San's J’Ouvert.
J’Ouvert is just one of the most looked-forward to event for SPIRIT's community festival Black San Bang-A-Lang, as it is a time to unwind, let loose and get on ‘bad’.
The jam session began at Romney Ground and the Small Axe Band had no trouble getting the revellers' waistline moving to its music.
As the sounds reverberated through the streets of Sandy Point, men were seen with buckets of paint decorating everyone they passed while others had buckets of liquor, stopping from time to time to dip their cups in to have a drink.
Neither characters nor troupes were seen this year but one man caught the eyes of many as he was seen sporting condoms, both male and female, as hair accessories.
When approached, the young man boldly stated that he was promoting the practice of safe sex, adding that J’Ouvert is a time when many become intoxicated and make poor choices and it was just his way of reminding people to "condomise".
The band kept the crowd bouncing, shaking and gyrating as they moved along the Main Road, but revellers went wild when they heard ‘From De Ghetto’, one of the band's popular tunes from its 2013-2014 Carnival Album.
They bounced and clapped as Mr. World hypnotised them with the chant "ghetto" for some time.
The real action however kicked off when the jam session got to The Big Drain in the heart of Sandy Point and the band struck up the ‘Hardware’ song. By that time the crowd had swelled to hundreds and even those on the sidelines did not stand still.
A few scuffles took place during the jam, but they were quickly taken under control by members of the Delta Squad, whose presence was seen throughout the session.
When the action turned onto Fahie's Street, many began preparing for the much-anticipated wet down segment of the jam session.
Ladies had shower caps on their heads and many others had their electronic devices securely tucked away so as to not get them wet. But disappointment struck when the majority of the crowd flocked the end of Fahie's Street only to learn that the 'armed forces' had put a time limit on that segment and they had missed it.
A police officer later explained that because of the scuffles that took place earlier in the jam session, there was a five minute time limit enforced so as to avoid any more.
That, however, did not stop revellers from enjoying the remainder of the jam which ended at Pump Bay, where the Beach Fete kicked off with DJ Yardy and continued into the evening.
