FEATURE CARNIVAL 2023

from Soca News Magazine - March 2023

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DOES IT DESERVE A PASSING GRADE?

WORDS | LATOYA JONES

The curtains have closed, and the dust has settled on Trinidad and Tobago Carnival 2023, but the debate rages on: did it live up to expectations? After a two-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, this return was dubbed ‘The Mother of All Carnivals’, and promised to be bigger and better than ever before.

Sadly, for many, it did not live up to the hype and has been described as underwhelming. One frequent observation that left many stumped was the low spectator turnout in downtown Port of Spain, and at the Queen's Park Savannah on Carnival Monday and Tuesday. Scores of food vendors are still reeling from their losses; the dismal attendance of onlookers lining the streets meant there weren't the usual crowds to feast on their delicacies.

Trinidad and Tobago has earned its reputation as the Mecca of Carnival, but what went wrong this year? Whilst thousands attended the scores of events on the carnival calendar, many have reported that it just wasn't the same.

"It was off. Something was definitely off," one feter told Soca News. This sentiment was endorsed by countless others, who felt that the energy this year was different. Even so, the return of Carnival was a symbol of hope for countless others.

We caught up with a group of friends who travelled from the US for the tail end of the highly anticipated festival. "It was different," the group’s spokesperson said, "But better to have a Carnival that's a little different, than to have none at all. The last couple years was torment, we didn't know when we would be able to do this again or if we would have been able to at all. I'm just happy that we've been able to come here and enjoy this."

Did the National Carnival Commission overhype the return, do little to manage expectations and fail to deliver? Many seem to think so, and took to social media to share their views on the matter. The general consensus: yes.

The party in opposition, United National Congress, said that Carnival 2023 was a wasted opportunity. Moruga/Tableland MP Michelle Benjamin said the failure of Carnival 2023 to live up to people's expectations could be attributed to poor planning and poor management. "The ‘Mother of all Carnivals’ did not showcase the greatest show on earth. Instead, it exposed PNM incompetence and disregard for our culture," she said.

On the flip side, the Panorama competition was one of the highlights of Carnival 2023. It was impossible to miss the proud presence of many of the nation’s youth in the annual competition. To many, the larger-than-usual proportion of young people competing in Panorama 2023 was proof that, at the very least, the future of this facet of Trinidad and Tobago culture is in safe hands.

Despite the hiccups, Carnival 2023 signalled a return to normalcy and a welcome reprieve in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. We're already looking forward to and planning for Carnival 2024. How about you?

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