BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – BRINGING people together for Carnival was the aim of Party Central and they accomplished that as thousands of people lined Central and Fort Streets for the Party Central Nightly events.

This evening (Jan. 9) Party Central will host their final event at Club Kactus, which is their Last Lap celebration and will feature Chalice Sounds, Evolution Sounds, Infamus and the Nu Vybes Band. According to organiser Ian Phipps, a.k.a. Rookie of Rookie Entertainment, the idea for Party Central originated from past experiences of himself and others ‘liming’ on Central Street.

He said that for the past three years they have been liming there during Carnival but it was on a smaller scale, and after the 2008-09 National Carnival celebrations they decided to make it an official event.

Party Central was launched simultaneously on the opening of Carnival on Dec. 18, and each night following the launch a number of local sounds, bands and artistes provided entertainment.

“We decided to enhance Carnival, making it bigger, better and proper in terms of adding a festival area or village. We took a year to decide how we can bring a Kittitian flavor of celebration to the people,” Phipps said.

“Bringing people together for an Infamus Carnival was the theme of the event, and what came to mind was for people meeting other people and forgetting about the pains the year may have brought.”

Phipps said they received great feedback from the people who said that it was something needed.

“The turnout was a success. It was higher than what some of us expected and we looked forward to everyday in anticipation. The nature of Party Central was to create a partying feeling among the people while attracting persons to St. Kitts, whether they were partygoers or carnival crashers,” he said.

The event was presented by Rookie Entertainment in collaboration with Watch No Face and BCA, and Phipps said that without the sponsors the event would not have been possible.

“I would like to thank the sponsors; they jumped on board without hesitation. And those sponsors were Digicel, Carib Brewery, Island Xpressions, SL Horsfords, Vivid Designs and Kittitian Flava,” he said.

Gratitude was also extended to the Commissioner of Police, the Fire Department, Solid Waste Management and the National Carnival Committee.

He added that persons could look forward to a greater Party Central event for the next Carnival celebrations.