Bacchanal in Barrie?

~Caribana 40th anniversary~

This was an especially fun Caribana for us as our two carnival friends joined us on the road. It's always sensational having people play mas with us for the first time... it's never their last!

It was also a memorable Caribana with the newest It band, Toronto Revellers, who I suspected would dethrone Carnival Nationz, winning large Band of the Year, leaving CN in 3rd place. Saldenah, who held the title 15 times, took second place. Errol Achue's Mas Toronto placed 4th, and Marlon Singh's Callaloo placed 5th.
Newcomer Dexter Seusahai's Tribal Knights, the band I said to watch, did in fact take the small Band of the Year.

The usual complaint from some of the 1.5 million spectators was that there was a long wait between the bands. With 25,000 masqueraders and 3 bands not making it to the parade route, it's no surprise. This appears to be an issue every year, something hopefully that will be improved upon.

If you can't get enough carnival, up next is Caribfest, Barrie's first Caribbean styled Carnival this Saturday, September 1. This all day carnival will be held at the Barrie Event Centre starting at 10 a.m. It will feature Caribana costumes, a parade and a dance on the grounds of the Event Center. Reggae, soca, steel pan, chutney and tassa bands will be performing.

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I want to thank all my Caribana friends and bloggers who gave this blog over 3000 hits! This blog will be on hiatus until Caribana 2008, so until then, it's back to MocaGyrl.