It's a sad truth that I hate to admit, but the more I jump up at Caribfest and Mardi Gras, the less I like Caribana. Mind you, there wouldn't be a Caribfest without Caribana. And Caribana can still proudly boast it's the biggest and best Caribbean festival in North America. But when you compare the 3 parades, the big thing is what a difference in the attitutes of the spectators! There aren't a bunch of - I'll say it - young assholes shoving their way through, disrespecting not only the masqueraders, but the Kings & Queens and Individuals.What I noticed with the greening of Caribfest was some volunteers picking up litter. The streets were reopened immediately after the last band, so did that mean there was no need for street cleaners? Or they do that later?
The downer to Caribfest was charging an entry fee into the main stage. There weren't many people inside, which was too bad for those food vendors waiting to sell. So this resulted in the few vendors outside the gates/in the park having super crazy long line ups. In typical West Indian fashion, more people chose to lime outside the gate or in the parking lots instead.
It was great to have met many blog readers the last 3 Saturday's.
I prefered Saturday's weather the most, cloudy with no blazing sun. Very fortunately, the threat of thunderstorms never happened!
We left Friday afternoon to avoid Saturday morning traffic, which I heard wasn't an issue. The boat cruise Fri. night was a unexpected fun time. At first, I didn't have high hopes (we don't care for dj fetes/cruises), but luckily, it turned out to be the best thing to do in Barrie the Friday night.
So our las lap was the best. Caribfest is turning into quite a big little carnival!
such a sign of the timeslol
Send me your Barrie pics if you want them posted on the blog slide show I'll be doing.
I couldn't agree with you more. Barrie was nice!! Even better than last year. It was the perfect way to get a final jump up in my costume (I'm not going to Miami this year). We followed the Black Sage truck and Jump Up Kings were so on point. It was nice to finally hear not only more than Palance but new soca from Barbados, Vincy and the summer carnivals! The crowd was nice. The spectators appreciated our presence and limin by the beach was a nice lil' cool down! I actually had more fun in Barrie than I did in Hamilton. So Barrie will likely see us again next year!
ReplyDeleteNext year in going to Barrie no matter what. Unfortunately I wont make it to Miami either. Next year carnival all summer.
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