Monday 12 August 2013

Crop Over 2013 review: Island Mas Breakfast Party

Island Mas Breakfast Party 2013
Another fete review from blogger Carnival Stats who was in Barbados for Crop Over 2013!

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This was the 6th edition of Island Mas' Breakfast Party, which started back in 2008. a truly unique fusion of trini-bajan culture.

The event started at 7:30 am and was carded to go til 2:30 pm, however, my friends and I arrived  at about 11 am... typical trini thing. By the time we got there the sun was out in full force and the event well underway. Received complimentary drinks on entry which we wasted  no time in putting away before heading to one on the 4 bars on site. The wait for drinks wasn't long and the stock was premium. Shout out to Kevin Clarke.

The Venue of it self was nice, the set up effective, easy access to bars, space to "roll that batty" and safe even for wedges :). My only  issues with  the venue were the heat and limited bathrooms. At  one point  I actually thought the event had relocated to the surface of the sun. Thank heavens for the huge cool air fan thingie, the water hose and the strips running across the tent frame.

Missed the first few Djs, (sorry about that Penthouse). Shurwayne's performance was up to standard as usual, and enjoyable. The real thing from Tobago. Me being a big  Edwin Yearwood fan I enjoyed his performance immensely and Jus Jase definitely represented well for the trinis.  

The food... can I just say... damn. Waterside Restaurant  provided lunch and it was great!Garlic potatoes, fish, chicken,  pasta, mac pie, fish cakes (accra) salads. The options were wide and tasted lovely.

Trini Doubles were also on hand and you never go wrong with doubles in a fete.

Overall vibe was great 9/10 and  will be back next year with more friends. Really good job Island Mas.

Carnival Stats
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Reviews can be sent to CropOverChronicles@gmail.com. Note opinions expressed here are those of the individual masquerader/event attendee and do not represent those of the Crop Over Chronicles

Tuesday 6 August 2013

Crop Over 2013 Review: TF Services + Soca Titans + Jambalassee + Bliss + Booze Cruise + Oh Ship

Rihanna in Barbados Crop Over 2013
 
 
First up in our Crop Over 2013 review series comes from a group from the UK:
 
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Hiya

As a first timer to Barbados/Cropover, i must say it was a good experience, now that i know the ropes i will be back again next year! We used Trple F Services to arrange the major tickets and i am glad we did, so a massive thanks to them for their professionalism and overall help.

Soca Titans - Fantastic is all i can say and i will explain why, coming from a country where nothing is ever organised they pulled it off. A must for me next year!

Lush - this was by far our favourite fete, it was just fab! the only complaint is that the food wasn't all that but hey we weren't there for the food. Another must do next year.

Jambalasse - Great. I jumped till 6....overall vibes was cool.

Bliss - Jeez the venue far but it was gorgeous. Loved everything about this fete. Knew it was going to be  an upmarket event and it didn't disappoint. Drinks flowing till we left. The food queue was wayyyyyyyyy too long and not enough food stations. Strangely enough this was the one fete people were very friendly so a bit confused why people think it is snobby!

Booze Cruise - Another one we liked and my friend said the steak was amazeballs!

Cesars Army Oh Ship - ABSOLUTE SHYTES (Pardon my language) Ticket said 7pm, we newbies got there at 7 because it said boarding at 7. No one there to explain what was going on and we were there for 2 hours, we finally saw the jolly roger, around 9.30pm got on, the boat stank but the whole atmosphere was absolutely off and we were slightly terrified as a group of very aggressive guys were talking about shanking someone who had disrespected them earlier. But we were just pissed off with the whole disorganisation so we got off and went home to drink our cheap bottle of wine! Our mistake, next year we will stick to strictly Bajan Fetes....if i want a trini party i will go to trinidad.

Overall we loved cropover and was surprised to hear some Barbadians complaining about a lot, my friend and myself looked at each other and laughed hard. If only they knew that all the events that happened could never have gone smoothly where i come from, but then i guess we all have to strive for excellence. 

Till next year then!
 
L
 
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Reviews can be sent to CropOverChronicles@gmail.com. Note opinions expressed here are those of the individual masquerader/event attendee and do not represent those of the Crop Over Chronicles

Monday 28 January 2013

Trinidad Carnival 2013

Well here we are again, Carnival time. Did you miss me? We had a great Crop Over season in Barbados, though a little man called Ernesto tried to (literally) rain on our parade. More on that later, but for now, Bajan Cherry is heading over to Trinidad. Here's the latest:


  • The two "top" breakfast parties are currently without a license to party. Sunnyside Up and Vale Vibe have gotten the residents of Diego up in arms over noise complaints. It is alleged by some that all has to happen is someone's palm has to be greased. Quelle horreur if that's true! But in Trinidad, the show must go on!
 
  • Speaking of rumours, the assault charge Machel Montano was found guilty on had sentencing put off until after Carnival. If your girlfriend is allegedly Aunty Kamla's family anyway you know you're safe. 

  • NEXT! The famous Crop Over events Booze Cruise and Roast Cruise have both decided to hold cruises Carnival Sunday. Booze is supposed to have Lil Rick on board as well as Anya Ayoung-Chee. Well this is interesting. It is quite poetic in the case of Booze Cruise as it would be a homecoming to the Harbour Master boat, as we profiled in our article it has been in Trinidad since last year. Great to see the Bajans keeping the Caribbean unity alive!

  • Speaking of people who throw cruises in other islands: Scorch seems to have expanded its Carnival Saturday Block-O and instead of the intimate grassy St. Clair setting, is rumored to be in Jean Pierre complex this year. For those of you new to Carnival, it's basically a stadium. So doubtful it will have the same vibe. Scorch will not be on my calendar this year. 


What ARE my picks for the season? Stay tuned to find out!  
 
Follow on twitter: @cropchronicles

For Trinidad Carnival event tickets friend or like the facebook page facebook.com/trplefservices or click here.