SOCANEWS Free
i114/may 2016 ISSN 1464-7087
socanews.com
MAY 2016 SN 1
2 SN MAY 2016
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CONTENTS
may 2016 | issue 114
reviews
regular
28 drama readings, music at jean and dinah tribute
07 NEWS
30 seychelles carnival, the best ever!
15 MUSIC
DJ CJay Top Soca Tracks Music reviews Videos Soca on the Web New soca releases
25 EVENTS
socanews.com 4 SN MAY 2016
When and where to fete
features 12 st.kitts 2016 Music Festival 18 like ah boss 20 guyana - land of many waters is 50 22 uk soca monarch 2016
35 carnivals & festivals guide
get listed If you are a carnival organiser, promoter, mas band, steelband, soca sound, community group or other participant who’s feeling left out because we didn’t mention your event, or if you’d like to advertise in the magazine or online, the remedy is in your hands. Get in touch! Give us a call on 0333 012 4643
MAY 2016 SN 5
SOCANEWS Free
i114/may 2016 ISSN 1464-7087
socanews.com
Editor’s
Letter I realise every time I come to write these letters that it’s the drug soca
that keeps me at it, and once soca is pumping life is always going to be great... we’re livin’ la vida soca!
SN May 2016 (i114).indd 1
COVER PHOTO Socaholic
PHOTOGRAPHER Joseph Young
MAY 2016 SN 1
14/05/2016 02:12:51
The band launch season is almost at an end, with just a handful of bands yet to showcase their creations for the 2016 Notting Hill Carnival season. This month is a special one for Guyana as they celebrate their 50th year of independence, and there’s a dinner dance taking place at the end of the month. You will find a comprehensive list of launches and other events on pages 25. The UK Soca Monarch competition is back, on Sunday 7 August. This is an opportunity for UK acts to find a platform and to get involved; more information can be found on page 22. This issue is all about carnivals and festivals happening throughout the world and in the UK in the coming months. We have tried to be as comprehensive as possible, but if we missed something, please let us know. The carnival and festivals guide, sponsored by Caribbean Reunion Club, starts on page 35. When you’ve finished checking out what’s taking place you can call our friends at CRC and tell them, “Book me a flight”! As always, our aim is to keep you informed about who’s doing what, and what’s making the news when it comes to soca music, here and abroad. For more information about all news and carnival-related events, and to hear and see the latest soca music tracks and videos, visit www. socanews.com. Until the next time. YOURS IN SOCA THE EDITOR
Published By Joseph Charles Publishing, 86 - 90 Paul Street, London EC2A 4NE. Telephone + 44 (0) 333 012 4643 Twitter | twitter.com/socanews Email | info@socanews.com Instagram | instagram.com/socanews Facebook | facebook.com/socanews Website socanews.com This issue of Soca News was brought to you by: Publisher & Editor Joseph Charles. Sub-Editor Katie Segal Consulting-Editor Stephen Spark. Layout & Design Joseph Charles & Lawson Lovell. Contributors Nicole-Rachelle Moore, Natasha Ofosu, Stephen Spark, Martin Jay & DJ CJay. Photographers Stephen Spark, Victor Morris, Albert St Clair, Natasha Ofosu, Shutter In Motion & Carl Gabriel Thanks to Feminine Touch & Cameron Kiss The views expressed in Soca News are not necessarily the views of the editor or the publisher. All material contained within this publication is the copyright of Soca News. No material, written or photographic may be reproduced in any way without the written permission of the publisher. No liability will be accepted for any errors which may occur within the magazine.
6 SN MAY 2016
news
5 x 10 Years of Notting Hill Carnival – Art Competition words • nicole-Rachelle Moore
London’s Notting Hill Carnival has been taking place during the last weekend in August since the 1960s. This year’s celebration of 50 years of the annual extravaganza of colour, creativity and culture encapsulated in the costumes, dance and music of the capital’s foremost cultural event will truly be a special one. Carnival Village Trust, a charity dedicated to the development of carnival arts, is hosting ‘5 Decades of Carnival’, an art competition in which entries must reflect the legacy of Notting Hill Carnival. Would-be entrants are encouraged to be a part of the ongoing Notting Hill Carnival legacy and contribute to the landscape of carnival arts. The internationally renowned carnival artist Carl Gabriel will be a guest judge, and will also be offering optional guidance workshops for the winners. The four categories being judged are: Primary Schools, Art Students, Artists and Emerging Artists. Carnival Village Trust expects
each entry to be a large scale 3D work no higher than 2m, for outdoor exhibition, accompanied by 150 words on the work with specification of its construction. Each of the four winners will receive £1000 in addition to having their work exhibited in the courtyard of the Carnival Village venue from 1 August. The cut-off date for either digital or paper competition entries is June 16th. Further details can be accessed at www. carnivalvillage.org.uk or admin@carnivalvillage. org.uk. Soca News wishes the best of luck to all entrants, and looks forward to a new, stellar exhibition by contemporary carnival artists. this year’s Notting Hill Carnival will take place on Sunday 28 and Monday 29 August 2016.
socanews.com/ news MAY 2016 SN 7
news
Caribbean family wanted to go Back in Time for BBC Two Wall to Wall Television, makers of Long Lost Family, Who Do You Think You Are? and Back in Time…, are making a new living history series; Back in Time for Brixton will take one second or third generation Caribbean family through 60 years of history, charting the story of how African-Caribbean immigration changed British culture and society from the arrival of the first families of the Windrush generation, to jobs in London Transport and the NHS, and to the slow and sometimes questionable appearance of Black faces on British TV. With Brixton as their base, one adventurous family will be fast-forwarded through history. They’ll start by spending their first night in one of the locations that newly arrived immigrants were sent to. Then they’ll need to find jobs, somewhere to live, and will journey through six decades of history - wearing the clothes, listening to the music and eating the food that previous generations enjoyed. Whilst exploring the history of Black Britain, the series will also tell the story of Brixton itself. And along the way, the series will trace the impact and influence of Black British history on modern Britain and its popular culture. 8 SN MAY 2016
This is a unique opportunity for one lucky family to be a part of a much loved and BAFTA nominated living history series. As with the previous Back in Time… series, they’ll lovingly recreate a home and include surprise celebrity visitors. Past shows have included Trevor Nelson, Angela Rippon and Trevor Brooking, and there will be have presenters who’ll guide the family’s experience and explore the history with them. Any families interested in taking part in the programme should email windies@walltowall.co.uk for details of how to apply.
Grenada chocolate Now in its third year, Grenada Chocolate Fest will run from 13 to 22 May. The festival, which celebrates the island’s organic and ethically produced cocoa and chocolate, is quite an experience for anyone with a passion for chocolate. For more information and tickets, please visit grenadachocolatefest.com.
mas in the City of Dreaming Spires have your say at leeds carnival conference This year sees the golden jubilee of Notting Hill Carnival, and in 2017 it will be Leeds’ turn to celebrate 50 years of carnival on the road. Leeds West Indian Carnival proudly boasts of being the oldest Caribbean-style street carnival in Europe (Rhaune Laslett envisaged Notting Hill as a parade to open a multicultural festival, rather than as a specifically Caribbean-focussed carnival). To celebrate the achievements of the past – in some cases, in the face of considerable difficulties and even outright hostility – and to explore Carnival’s current development, the Centre for Culture and the Arts at Leeds Beckett University will be holding next year an international conference of Caribbean carnival cultures. Entitled ‘Power, Performance and Play’, the conference will take place from 19 to 21 May 2017. The organisers would like your suggestions for subjects to explore and you can do so by emailing Danielle Hall at d.hall@leedsbeckett.ac.uk by 1 June 2016.
If you imagined that ‘going up to Oxford’ was only for the academic elite, think again. The city’s inspirational Cowley Road Carnival is inviting groups from all over the UK to take part in the parade along (you guessed it) Cowley Road. Last year’s successful event saw 800 participants in 35 groups, who organisers described as, “Celebrating all the differences that make this area such a wonderful place to live and work.” Procession and production co-ordinator Anya Fox said, “We would love our procession groups to be inspired by groups from other cities and towns and for our visitors to see how we do it in Oxford.” The carnival is ecologically friendly, so no petrol or diesel -powered vehicles or generators are allowed; as well as stimulating masqueraders’ imagination, this also cuts their fuel bills to zero! Unfortunately, a squeezed budget means there are no funds to pay visiting groups. This year’s event takes place on Sunday 10 July; the theme is ‘All the World’s a Stage’. The closing date for applications to participate is 7 June; to book or to find out more, call Anya on 07900 608694 or check www.cowleyroadcarnival.co.uk. MAY 2016 SN 9
feature
New CLR James film released words • Natasha Ofosu
Every Cook Can Govern: The Life, Works and Impact of CLR James premiered at the Arthur and Paula Lucas Theatre at King’s College, London, on 31 March. The film is the first feature length documentary about the life of Trinidad-born writer, historian and Marxist Cyril Lionel Robert James, and explores his life, writings and politics. Never-before-seen footage of him is interwoven with interviews with leading scholars of his works, as well as those who knew him well. Produced, directed and edited by Ceri Dingle and Rob Harris, the film is a production of London-based education charity WORLDwrite. It celebrates a number of other firsts: it was not only crowd-funded, but crowd- featured and –filmed as well, with over 200 volunteer camera operators, researchers and presenters. Dingle, who is also WORLDwrite’s director, said, “The film provides a great insight into the life of a 24/7 revolutionary in the 20th century, what it means to stand by your principles to the very end and to fearlessly question received wisdom and tirelessly campaign for a better world.” James was born in Tunapuna, East Trinidad, in 1901. An avid cricketer, he wrote about the game 10 SN MAY 2016
both in his home island and as a cricket correspondent for the Manchester Guardian newspaper after he migrated to England in 1932. It was while in England that James’ revolutionary political consciousness was refined and strengthened, beginning with the issue of self-governance for the West Indies and later Africa, and through his study of the socialist theories of Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky, among others. James left England in 1939 to live in the United States of America. He was imprisoned on Ellis Island, New York for his political activities, before being expelled from the country in 1953. Thereafter, he divided his time between England and Trinidad. James died in London in May, 1989. Despite being responsible for a large collection of writings including essays, short stories and novels, James is best known for his study of the successful slave revolution in San Domingo (Haiti) in 1791, called The Black Jacobins (1938), and for Beyond A Boundary (1963), an exploration of cricket and colonialism. To accompany the release of the documentary, WORLDwrite has developed an online portal which includes further information about James, at www.clrjames.uk.
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feature
50 CENT
St.Kitts 2016 MUSIC Festival words • nicole-Rachelle Moore
12 SN MAY 2016
JUNE 2016 marks 20 years of the annual St. Kitts Music Festival, which this year, as usual, promises to be an exciting three days of great live music and unforgettable performances. Successful collaboration and dedicated volunteers over the years has consistently allowed for the success of the festival, which, as well as enhancing the country’s tourism industry, has also encouraged the development and growth of contemporary talent within the local music community and industry. Amongst the many artists who have performed at the musically diverse festival during the past several years are: Buju Banton, Billy Ocean, Big Boi of Outkast, Michael Bolton, Bobby Caldwell, Destra, Chaka Khan, Kool & The Gang, Hugh Masakela, Machel Montano, Lonnie Liston Smith, Ludacris, Pieces of a Dream, Sparrow and Atlantic Starr. This year the line-up of international performers includes Dominican soca favourites The Original Bouyon Pioneers, Dominican Republic’s Hip-Hop/Pop sensation El Mayor Clasico, Jamaican artists Dexter Daps, Marcia Griffiths, Morgan Heritage, Damian Marley, Tarrus Riley and Leroy Sibbles. North
SHANNA RAYMOND
DAMIAN MARLEY
American acts 50 Cent and the O’Jays are also billed to appear, while Kes The Band will add their flavour of Trinidad and Tobago during the extravaganza of music ‘mix and blenda’. Local musicians participating in the 20th anniversary bash are De Jour, Kjah, Lax, Maleek, Mod Stoney, Nicha B and Shanna. The Fringe is a separate element of the festival, and is comprised of organised beach parties, boat rides, lunchtime concerts, official after parties, scenic railway tours and Slam Dunk contests. The Fringe offers attractive activities and events aimed at stimulating a desire to visit St. Kitts in advance of the specified festival period, and indeed to remain on the island for some time after the event ends. Soca News will be there! The St. Kitts Music Festival will be held at Warner Park, Basseterre, from Thursday 23 June to Saturday 25 June. Further information may be accessed at: www.stkittsmusicfestival.net or www.stkittstourism.kn
TARRUS RILEY
SPECIAL OFFER UNTIL 23 MAY 2016, Q HOLIDAYS ARE OFFERING A 7-NIGHT PACKAGE FROM 22 TO 29 JUNE FOR TRAVEL TO THE ST. KITTS MUSIC FESTIVAL WITH PRICES STARTING FROM £929 PER PERSON (BASED ON 2 ADULTS SHARING A ROOM). TO BOOK CALL Q HOLIDAYS 020 7326 7699.
MAY 2016 SN 13
TO ADVERTISE IN THE NEXT ISSUE OF
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MAGAZINE CALL 0333 012 4643
14 SN MAY 2016
music
dj cjay - top soca tracks DJ CJay’s music caters to different moods and events, be it corporate, weddings, birthdays, club nights or carnivals. Truly a DJ for all occasions, he may be heard on www.caribbeansessions.co.uk on Fridays, between the hours of 9 and 11pm.
SCENE GBM NUTRON
MON BON AMI ANGELA HUNTE
WAITING ON THE STAGE
MACHEL MONTANO
CHEERS TO LIFE
BUM BUM
VOICE
THIRD BASS
GIRL MEETS BRASS
NON STOP
FEAT. BADJOHN REPUBLIC
ALLEZ
TEDDYSON JOHN
PEOPLE
KES THE BAND
ALL KINDA KIND KERWIN DU BOIS
(RR RIDDIM)
SALTY
(JAMBE-AN RIDDIM)
PTERNSKY
MAY 2016 SN 15
music music reviews review by natasha ofosu
real nadia batson Trinidadian soca artist Nadia Batson is celebrating her tenth year in the industry with the release of a new album. Real is an eleven track collection, on which Batson said she wanted to showcase her ‘fun side’. The title also speaks to her work ethos. “Real not only represents the relationship between me and my fans, it also represents my approach to my craft,” she said. “The honesty and vulnerability that are evident in my music are what make it, and me, so real.” Batson, who is known for hits such as Shiver and Caribbean Girl, wrote or co-wrote many of the songs on the album. She also worked with production heavyweights Precision Productions, Martian Music, Stadic Music, Mega Mick and AdvoKit Productions. The collection is Batson’s sixth studio album. It is dominated by mid-tempo, groovy carnival songs, such as Party Capital on the Railroad Riddim, Magic with Sekon Sta, who was the 2015 International Soca 16 SN MAY 2016
Monarch Breakout Artiste, Sorry, and her ode to the genre, Soca Is Life. She drops a touch of Grenadian Jab Jab with the tune Turbulence, and caters for steel pan fans on Music Inside Meh Head. The latter was the tune of choice for BPTT Renegades steelband at the 2016 National Panorama Finals, and they placed third. Batson shines on Secrets, a track written by Dale Ryan and Emmanuel Rudder which has a rich, sweet melody anchored by brass instruments and lush vocal harmonies. On More Nadie, a ragga-soca track, she is brutally honest as she echoes a view held by many about the lack of recognition she has experienced despite her wide vocal range and accomplishments as a songwriter and producer: “So much years inna de business, still underrated/ So meh kick down de door because meh fed up waiting...” Batson began singing and writing songs as a child, and turned professional when she was 17. In the intervening years she won a popular local talent competition called Party Time, singing with a girl group named Silhouette. She was a member of folk singer Andre Tanker’s One World Contraband until his death in 2003, and in 2005 become the lone female voice in Kes the Band. That association ended in 2011 when Batson left to establish Trinidad and Tobago’s only all-female soca band SASS Nation. Real is on the Fox Fuse label, and is available worldwide from all major digital retailers.
videos
oh gosh flipo
soca on the web
new soca releases
Sunday
ST VINCENT
7-9pm
Soca on the Beat
Smokey Joe & Danny D, The Beat 103.6FM, thebeat1036.com
5-8pm
Mega Mix Show
DJ Cris, vibesfm.com
03. DEM VINCY
6-8pm
The Caribbean Affair
Martin Jay, bakahnalradio.com
04. AYE!!
8-10PM
BAKAHNAL IN D JUNCTION
DJ Toro, bakahnalradio.com
monday
nation of love preedy
7-9pm
Soca City
Mz Tiny Winey, bakahnalradio.com
thursday 6-8PM
D BREAK AWAY SHOW
Digga D, bakahnalradio.com
Friday
allez
teddyson john
9-11pm
Caribbean Sessions Showcase
DJ CJay, caribbeansessions.co.uk
Saturday 12-2pm
Caribbean House Party
Feminine Touch, Supreme FM 99.8, supremefmlive.ning.com
01. WAISTLINE CONTRACT VERJAL
02. DON'T GIVE IT AWAY
SKINNY FABULOUS
MASON KAHAILIA
05. PORK OUTTA ROAD DRIPPA RIDDIM LUTA
SAINT LUCIA 01. VILLAGE DANCE
TEDDYSON JOHN
02. REBELS MONGSTAR
03. RUM & IRON SERGIE
04. FETING HOLIDAY MYSTERIO
05. CARNIVAL GOALS
CHAMPAGNE RIDDIM
HITTY LANCE
GRENADA 01. CARNIVAL PARTY
STICKY RIDDIM
KENNEDY
02. MASCARADERS
STICKY RIDDIM
CONTAGIOUS
03. BOUNCE THAT BOOTY
bet
ricardo drue
If you have or know of a radio programme that you would like to see included in this section, please email admin@socanews.com with all the relevant information.
PRESS GAS RIDDIM
DADDY GHOST
04. PRESS GAS
PRESS GAS RIDDIM
TIMELESS
05. MIND YOU BUSINESS
PRESS GAS RIDDIM
CONTAGIOUS
socanews.com/music MAY 2016 SN 17
feature
Like ah boss words • C Quinn
The shallowness of mass-produced party band mas is a hot target of the chattering classes. “We need to get back to Carnival’s roots,” someone told a meeting recently. “There should be more political mas.” Murmurs of approval all round. But hold on: why is it someone else’s job to give you the mas you want? And why is it someone else’s wallet that has pay for it? Party bands are popular because they give people a package they want and are happy to pay for. But if you believe midnight robbers and political agitprop are what Notting Hill needs, then fine, bring out a band. If you’re passionate enough about an alternative to beads and feathers you’ll find the means, the money and the masqueraders to bring it out on the road. After all, the pioneers found ways to overcome every adversity to create our carnival in the first place. Just don’t expect someone else to do it for you. To paraphrase John F Kennedy in 1961, ask not what Carnival can do for you, ask what you can do for Carnival.
18 SN MAY 2016
Like President Kennedy, Claudia Jones was a leader. In her short life, she achieved the apparently impossible by bringing people with her, inspiring them, persuading and cajoling them, and filling them with some of her own energy and drive. That’s leadership. Rhaune Laslett had a vision – one that was decades ahead of her time – and brought a fragmented community together to create something unique and beautiful. Like Jones, she had no idea where that vision was going to lead, but she didn’t wait for others to make the first move. That’s leadership. Claire Holder took over a bankrupt, discredited carnival organisation and dragged it kicking and screaming into the real world, one that knew it had to balance the books if it was to achieve its artistic and cultural potential. While mutineers tried to rock the boat from the inside and enemies launched torpedoes from the outside, she kept the ship on a steady course. That’s leadership. Funny how Carnival seems to do best when woman is boss…
£468 Barbados
50TH ANNIVERSARY
£469 FLIGHT PRICES FROM
FOR THE BEST PRICES CALL:
020 7344 0101 www.flycrc.com GO ONLINE:
PASSWORD ‘FLYCRC’
REUNION CLUB
VISIT OUR LONDON OFFICE: AT THE CORNER OF OXFORD STREET AND 93 NEWMAN STREET, W1T 3EZ MAY 2016 SN 19
feature
KAIETEUR FALLS
Guyana
Land of Many Waters is 50 words • nicole-Rachelle Moore
MAY 26 is the official date of Guyana’s celebra-
tion of its 50th year of independence from Britain, although observation of this historic Golden Jubilee landmark has been taking place since the beginning of the year. Guyana occupies the unique position of being the only English-speaking country in South America, and which shares a close socio-political affinity and history with many Caribbean islands (so much so that it is often considered another country in that region). Popularly known as the ‘Land of Many Waters’ (some say from the Arawak Amerindian words ‘wai ana’), this vast landmass is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Brasil to the south, Suriname to the east and Venezuela to the west. The country was first colonised by the Spanish, then the French, the Dutch and the British, being finally ceded to the latter in 1814 (Anglo-Dutch Treaty). Although 20 SN MAY 2016
contact with Europeans historically proved fatal for much of the indigenous Arawak, Carib and Warao peoples, several thousand Amerindians continue to live in the country’s dense interior. The two main political parties that dominated Guyana’s history from 1950 onwards were the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), headed initially by Cheddi Jagan, and the breakaway People’s National Congress (PNC), led by Forbes Burham. Racial polarisation and resentment have often been at the fore of politics in Guyana. The late Guyanese academic and activist Walter Rodney (leader of the Working People’s Alliance) seemed, in the time before his assassination in 1980, to be able to bring together effective collaboration and solidarity between the two ethnic groups. In 2015, the country’s opposition party, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), defeated the
The flag of Guyana, known as The Golden Arrow, has been the national flag of Guyana since May 1966 when the country became independent from the United Kingdom. It was designed by Whitney Smith, an American vexillologist.
PPP after the latter’s 23 year rule. APNU’s leader, His Excellency Brigadier David Granger, is now the president, while The Honourable Moses Nagamootoo is the prime minister. The Golden Jubilee had its New York launch in January, and there will be extended follow up events from June 4 to 12. In London, the initial observation of the 50 year milestone took place in April, and is to be followed by the highly anticipated gala dinner, show and dance on May 28 at the Park Plaza Riverbank Hotel. The evening is to be held under the honorary patronage of Baroness Valerie Amos. Soca News caught up with Tafawa Ntune, a tireless cultural ambassador for Guyana in the UK for well over 20 years, and asked him for his thoughts on the country’s upcoming special birthday. Ntune said, “Guyana, the Land of Many Waters, has had a chequered first 50 years, but one thing with Guyanese – no matter the highs and lows or our aspirations and challenges, we all know how to party hard and we’re going to celebrate Guyana because it’s ‘we own’, to quote Dave Martens and the Trade Winds song Guyana is We Own. With the promise of a genuine, democratic process remaining in place for its citizens, an emerging new generation exhibiting more unity and respect among its diverse people and culture
and a hope of good governance and management, Guyana will be a force to be reckoned with in the next 50 years! Happy Golden Jubilee of Independence Guyana! Guyana to the world!” The country’s government has invited the UKbased Guyanese flautist Keith Waithe to perform ‘at home’ as part of its lavish cultural 50th anniversary calendar. Waithe said, “Guyana’s 50th Golden Anniversary is a significant milestone in this journey of life for all Guyanese at home and in the diaspora: Britain, the Caribbean and North America. This is a time for us, the people, to revisit folklore and the arts that played a major part in discovering the meaning of independence. I look forward to my performance during this period.” There is no doubt that Guyanese people at home and abroad – ‘One People, One Nation, One Destiny’ - are set to party come May 26 and beyond. Soca News extends congratulations to the Government of Guyana and its nationals throughout the world on this historical occasion. For further information about events in London, please call Tafawa Ntune on 07956 425 916, email gtpromotion@googlemail.com or visit www.tasteofguyana.uk. More about Keith Waithe at www.keithwaithe.com or by emailing essequibomusic@gmail.com. MAY 2016 SN 21
you have to be in it to win it The UK Soca Monarch competition remains the only platform for soca artists to increase their brand awareness, and that places them in the spotlight during the extended period whilst the competition is promoted. The ultimate aim is to build a sustainable soca music industry here in the UK. This year’s competition will see reigning Power and Groovy Monarch Triniboi Joocie defend his title. Registration is now open, and artists have until the 3 June, 2016 to submit their entries, which are again divided into the two distinct categories of ‘Power’ and ‘Groovy’. The final will take place on Sunday 7 August - affectionately dubbed ‘Soca Monarch Sunday’. This event, produced by Soca News, will see artists battling it out to be crowned UK Soca Monarch 2016. This is an opportunity for artists to showcase their talent on a dedicated platform, so that their music may be heard and appreciated. Developments of the competition in 2016 include artists being backed by a live band, and increased prize money. Joseph Charles, publisher of Soca News and founder and promoter of the UK Soca Monarch competition, says, “This competition is all about the artists. It’s a way for them to promote and market themselves to a growing, socaloving audience”. If you are a soca artist, or know of someone whom you think has what it takes to be crowned UK Soca Monarch 2016, then register now at www.uksocamonarch.com/ register. The closing date for all entries is midnight, Friday 10 June, 2016.
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO GET IN TOUCH, PLEASE EMAIL ADMIN@UKSOCAMONARCH.COM OR TELEPHONE 0333 012 4643.
WHERE WILL YOU BE ON SOCA MONARCH SUNDAY? #UKSOCAMONARCH #SOCAMONARCHSUNDAY 22 SN MAY 2016
MAY 2016 SN 23
24 SN MAY 2016
events
SOCANEWS.COM /EVENTS
14 MAY LUTON ASSOCIATION OF MAS (LAM)
Making The Magic Carnival Gala
@ UK Centre for Carnival Arts, 3 St Mary’s Road, Luton, LU1 3JA. Hosted by Kat B. Time 6pm. Price £10, £7, £5, under 5s free. Delicious Caribbean food included in the ticket price. Tel 01582 437 100
15 MAY THE GUYANA GOLDEN JUBILEE ORGANISING COMMITTEE (UK)
Guyana Heritage Concert
@ Bernie Grant Arts Centre, Town Hall Approach Road, N15 4RX. Time 4 - 6pm. Price £5 & £12.
SOCA MASSIVE FANCY SAILORS UK
Pirates Relaunch + Funmas
You are strongly advised to check with the event promoter, as details sometimes change and cancellations may occur; all information was correct at the time of going to print.
@ RnR Wine Bar, 225 Chingford Mount Road, Chingford, E4 8LP. DJs DJ Frisko, Slick Rick, Apache, Zoomer D & Soca Massive. Time 5 -11pm. Price Free b4 8pm £5 thereafter. Tel 07958 319 954
21 MAY RENAISSANCE ONE, THE BRITISH LIBRARY AND TILT
london is the place for me
@ British Library, 96 Euston Road, NW1 2DB. Time 1 - 9pm. Price Day Tickets £20 limited offer at www.bluk.
22 MAY CANDY MAS
High Altitude
@ The Magic Roundabout, Old Street Roundabout (above the tube station), EC1Y 1BE. DJs D’Transformerz, Matchiz, Shaker HD, Sun Bailante, DJ Red Boy,
Almighty Soundz (Jah Eyez & DJ Remstar), Big Business, Vinny Ranks & Mr Mention (Soca Mafia). Time Midday - 11pm. Price £10.
26MAY Guyana Independence Day Social Get Together
@ Classics, 28 Upper Tooting Road, Tooting, SW17 7PG. Time 4pm - late. Price £3 & £5.
27 MAY CLUB ZOUK
Dress Up Friday
@ Royal Banqueting Suite, 387 High Road, Wembley, HA9 6AA. DJs Mikey Afrique, VAL - DJ VJ & Mista Fix It. Time 9pm - 5am. Price £8 online, £10 & £15. Tel 07961 753 359
SOCANEWS.COM/EVENTS MAY 2016 SN 25
events KEY: [18] = OVER 18 & ID WILL BE REQUIRED | BF = BOOKING FEE |
SOCAHOLIC & UCOM
Summer Ting
@ Ruby Blue, 1 Leicester Place, WC2H 7BP. DJs Shep Beats, DJ Chris Vee, Mr Hype, DJ Knightz Beatz & Jamzy. Time 9pm - 3am. Price £5 & £8.
D REMEDY
Evolution
@ Nomad, 58 Old Street, EC1V 9AJ. DJs DJ Tate, Triple M, DJ Nate, Dan Bean & Prince Vern. Time 10pm - 4am. Price £5, £10 & £15. Tel 07770 729 988.
MDFC PRODUCTIONS
Leh We Fete
@ Ginger Sky, High Road Ilford, IG1 1NR. DJs Movements Family, Dynamic Sounds, Almighty Soundz, D’Transformerz, DJ Jigsaw, Slick Rick & Mr Benson. Time 10pm - 4am. Price £5 & £10. Tel 07718 916 068
28 MAY THE GUYANA UK CONSORTIUM
Guyana’s 50th Independence Anniversary Dinner, Show & Dance
@ Park Plaza Riverbank Hotel, 18 Albert Embankment, SE1 7TJ. Live Acts Jumo Primo, Leza ‘Radika’ Singh & Marie Pierre. Price £65 - £80, dinner, show & dance. £25, dance only. Time 7pm - 4am. Info 07956 425 916 or 07931 157 648
EUPHORIA CARNIVAL
2016 Band Launch and Outdoor Party @ Egg Nightclub, 200 York Way Kings Cross, N7 9AX. Time 4 11pm. Price £12 & £18.
SOCANEWS.COM/EVENTS 26 SN MAY 2016
TOBAGO RESIDENTS UK
30 MAY
@ St Jude’s & St Aidan Church Hall, Thornton Road, Thornton Heath, CR7 6BA. Time 6.30 9.30pm. Price £5, £10, Free 7 and under.
COCOYEA LONDON
A Taste of The Caribbean
AJ’s Calypso Tent
@ The Irish Centre, 96-104 Chatham Street, Reading Berkshire, RG1 7HT. Time 7pm. Price £5 & £10. Tel 07930 907 354
29MAY Xtreme Carnival Band BBQ
@ The Cock Tavern, 125 Kilburn High Road, NW6 6JH. Time 3pm.
LONDON NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL ENTERPRISES TRUST (LNHCET)
Black Tie Dinner
@ Hilton London Kensington Hotel, 179 - 199 Holland Park Avenue, W11 4UL. Time 6pm midnight. Price £50. Tel 07861 774 242.
CHOCOLATE NATION
2016 Band Launch Joie DeVivre @ 229 The Venue, 229 Great Portland Street, W1W 5PN. Hosted by Mike Forbes. DJs Shep Beats, C Jay, Danny D & D Tee. Time 9pm - late. Price £10, motd. Tel 07976 372 870
SUN BAILANTE
The Hot Carnival Party- Represent Your Country edition @ O2 Academy Islington, N1 Centre, 16 Parkfield Street, N1 0PS. Time 11pm - 6am. Price £10, £15, motd.
2016 Band Launch Reflexion
@ Carnival Village, Tabernacle Powis Square, W11 2AY. DJs CheInTheMiXX, DJ Fats & Zoomer D. Time 6pm. Showtime 8.30pm. Price £10. Tel 07956 223 247
GUYANA (UK) SPORTS DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION (GUSDA)
Guyana Folk Festival
@ Oasis Academy, Shirley Road, Croydon, CR9 7AL. DJs Mr Marlon, DJ Tony (B2B), DJ Blondee, DJ Boastman, DJ Lami & Mista Stylee. Time 1 - 10pm. Price £2, £3, £5 & £10.
02 JUNE SLU PROMOTIONS
Caribbean Night After Work Lime
@ The Cock Tavern, 125 Kilburn High Road, NW6 6JH. Time 6pm - midnight. Price Free.
04JUNE TALK YUH TALK IN ASSOCIATION WITH CARNIVAL VILLAGE TRUST
Kaiso Lime!
@ Carnival Village, Tabernacle Powis Square, W11 2AY. DJs Soca Massive, DJ Fats & Zoomer D. Time 7 - 10.30pm. Price Free.
05JUNE cirque 2
@ Brixton Jamm, 261 Brixton Road, SW9 6LH. Featuring Live DJ Puffy. DJs Prince Vern, Dan Bean, DJ Tate, Triple M, DJ Scooby & DSI Price £10. Time 2 - 10pm. Info 07967 044 492.
MAY 2016 SN 27
review
ACTRESSES PENELOPE SPENCER, RIGHT, AND RHOMA SPENCER, BRING SPARROW’S JEAN AND DINAH TO LIFE IN A SHORT PLAY.
Drama, Readings, Music at Jean and Dinah Tribute words + photos • natasha ofosu
28 SN MAY 2016
Sixty years after he won his first Calypso Monarch title, a theatrical tribute has been paid to the Mighty Sparrow and his breakthrough calypso Jean and Dinah at the 2016 NGC Bocas Lit Fest, Trinidad and Tobago’s literary festival. Actresses Penelope Spencer and Rhoma Spencer, playing Jean and Dinah respectively, brought the song to life in a short play at the National Library, Port of Spain, on 28 April. Created by playwright and director Tony Hall the piece, entitled “Jean and Dinah who have been locked away in a world famous calypso speak their minds publicly”, imagines the characters as old women who have seen better days - Jean’s left arm is paralysed, Dinah has lost her sight and both use walking sticks. The two reveal individual stories of abuse and tragedy which led them to become prostitutes. And while Jean still had a thirst for carnival, the playground which made them legends, Dinah declared she was staying at home and would take to her bed instead. Now 80, Sparrow (Slinger Francisco) made his debut on the calypso circuit in 1954. He won the first of his eight Calypso Monarch titles with Jean and Dinah in 1956 and emphatically stamped his mark on that carnival competition as well as the calypso world. Recognised as a stinging social commentary, the veteran bard gloats in the lyrics of the song that
COMEDIAN AND SOCA SINGER NIKKI CROSBY READS AN EXCERPT FROM NEWSPAPER COLUMNIST KEITH SMITH.
FORMER SOCA AND CALYPSO MONARCH KURT ALLEN PERFORMS SPARROW’S JEAN AND DINAH TO CLOSE A CELEBRATION TO MARK 60 YEARS SINCE THE SONG WON SPARROW HIS FIRST CALYPSO MONARCH CROWN.
the American (“Yankee”) soldiers stationed in Trinidad during the Second World War had gone, leaving the prostitutes who had once entertained them to the wiles of local men. “If you catch them broken / You can get them all for nothing / Don’t make a row / The Yankees gone and Sparrow take over now,” he sings. Sparrow himself recalled his audience’s response to his winning performance at the Calypso finals: “The crowd, man the crowd, from the first verse the stands were in an uproar,” he recounted to his friend, newspaper columnist Keith Smith. Smith, who died in February 2011, recorded the conversation in a column for the Trinidad Express newspaper in 2004. At the festival, comedian Nikki Crosby read from the column, which quoted calypso historian Professor Gordon Rohlehr stating that it was “remarkable” that a song about the withdrawal of US troops could enjoy the popularity it did, 10 years after the event. Smith wrote, “It may be that the bitterness evoked by the presence of American soldiers, as wealthier competitors in the skin trade, had outlasted them by a decade. It is however more likely that the calypso made its impact through the personality of Sparrow – his youth, vigour, confidence and the sense that he represented the newness of the time. Another reason for the popular Jean and Dinah was the vitality and the biting cynicism with which Sparrow was able to invest a worn out theme.” Another take on the public’s view of Sparrow and
his enduringly popular calypso was conveyed by nine-times Chutney Soca Monarch Rikki Jai. He read an excerpt from Raffique Shah’s 2001 commentary, in which he explained the contrasting views of young and older members of the Indo-Trinidadian community. “One could sense then that unless he was a flash-in-the-pan, here was a man who was destined to alter calypso forever,” Shah wrote. “From schoolyards to playgrounds, boys and girls sang Jean and Dinah, even though as children we hardly understood the theme of the song. And I’m writing about little Indian boys and girls, Africans, Chinese, everyone.” But while the young people found the song infectious, they risked being beaten by their elders if caught singing the song. He wrote, “From the moment he sang Jean and Dinah, Sparrow was viewed by most adult Indians as a vulgar calypsonian who was dismantling their religious and cultural values (they understood that Sparrow was singing about ‘jamettes’), hence he was anathema to them.” Each year the NGC Bocas Lit Fest pays tribute to a writer. Festival director Marina Salandy-Brown said that Sparrow’s classic calypsos showed he was, “an unparalleled wordsmith”. By a show of hands, most people at the event said they knew the words to Jean and Dinah - so former Soca and Calypso Monarch Kurt Allen led them in a rousing a capella rendition of the song to close the tribute. MAY 2016 SN 29
review
seychelles carnival the best ever! words + photos • stephen spark
30 SN MAY 2016
That was the verdict after the sixth Carnaval
International de Victoria, which filled Seychelles’ tiny capital with masquerade and music from Friday 22 to Sunday 24 April. Around 45,000 locals – half the country’s population – and a record number of visitors poured into the city to soak up the atmosphere. The excitement had been building for weeks beforehand as radio stations played carnival music, buildings were enveloped in swags of colourful fabric and decorations began to blossom on trees and lamp-posts. It reached fever pitch as the overseas carnival groups trooped through the airport on Mahé island lugging mysterious bags and boxes of costumes. The first taste of the fun to come was at the press launch on Thursday 21 April, held at Deepam Cinema in the centre of town. Soca News soon spotted Claire Holder – who ran London’s massive carnival for many years and now organises the touring Notting Hill Carnival Roadshow Company – and some familiar faces from Brixton-based Sunshine International Arts. The irresistible sound of pan from CSI Steelband soon got the Mauritian and Indonesian masqueraders moving. This multinational togetherness is a unique feature of Seychelles’ carnival, which is very much the brainchild of tourism and culture minister Alain St Ange. He often quotes from John Lennon’s Imagine, and something of that song’s inclusive spirit permeates
Victoria at carnival time. It’s a safe space where different cultures and customs can collide and mingle happily. Carnival in Seychelles opens in front of the President with speeches (nothing moves in Seychelles without a speech) and, more importantly, a music and dance spectacular in the national stadium, Stad Popiler. Seychelles certainly knows how to put on a show, and Terry Carolla (Telsy Production) and his team excelled with a three-stage format that allowed super-quick changeovers between acts. Big screens gave the audience in the stands an excellent view of the action on stage, and a rear-facing screen allowed performers waiting backstage to see the show too – a thoughtful touch. The show acted as a teaser for the main event the following day, bringing on one performer at a time from most of the overseas groups. With a backdrop of fireworks, much-loved local singer Joe Samy brought everyone together on stage for the finale. Somehow, Joe managed to find himself wedged between two sparkly Brazilian samba dancers – we all felt for his MAY 2016 SN 31
Carnaval International de Victoria 2016 official results Adults’ carnival BEST CULTURAL GROUP La Digue (‘Lafyerte Digwa’) BEST GOVERNMENT GROUP Seychelles Ports Authority (‘Propelling Port Victoria Forward’) BEST SCHOOL GROUP Seychelles Tourism Academy BEST LOCAL GROUP 1. Île Perseverance; 2. Banyan Tree Resort; 3. Four Seasons Resort BEST INTERNATIONAL GROUP 1. Notting Hill (UK); 2. La Réunion; 3. Indonesia predicament! Heavy rain had fallen earlier in the week, but when it mattered the sun shone, pushing the thermometer up to 32°C. The Germans from Cologne and Düsseldorf carnivals, in heavy woollen coats and boots, and the fat-suited Italians portraying Tweedledum and Tweedledee from Alice in Wonderland, must have been grateful for the shortened route from Bois de Rose Avenue to Freedom Square. The set-up worked well and the carnival kept impressively to time, with parade leader Perkobe, a vast tortoise, setting off at 3pm and the final groups entering the city-centre park at about 6pm. However, the 42-strong Notting Hill contingent, whose costumes and masqueraders were drawn from several London mas bands, chipped and wined all the way back to their base at the Cable & Wireless depot, which they reached at 7pm, with smiles all round. After Children’s Carnival, the weekend wound down on Sunday with a Family Fun Day in Freedom Square. Stage performances included highenergy dance and music from Mauritius (that brass!) and Réunion (those tambours!), tea and pandas from China, pyramidal acrobatics from India, fantastically elaborate costumes and an evocative soundtrack from Indonesia, and a leaping drummer from Ethiopia. Around the park perimeter, stalls sold creole food and rum-based cocktails, straw hats and multicoloured wigs. After the prizegiving, the carnival officially came to a close. In reality, the fun continued well into the night for those who had sufficient stamina and no pressing need to get to work early the next day. Locals pointed out that Carnival is the one time of the year when sleepy Victoria parties all night long. As the overseas carnival delegations queued up at the airport for their flights home to Africa, Asia, Europe and South America, some were still clutching little batons that proclaimed ‘Mon kontan Sesel’– I love Seychelles. It’s a sentiment that all those who visit this sweetly seductive country are bound to share. 32 SN MAY 2016
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE China; India
Children’s carnival BEST COSTUMES Au Cap (‘Tropical Flowers’) BEST DISPLAY Anse aux Pins Primary (‘Umbrellas’) BEST EFFORT Grande Anse Mahé (‘Happy Family’) BIGGEST GROUP Bel Eau Primary (‘Nou Lanmer’) MOST CREATIVE Anse Etoile MOST ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY Bel Eau Primary (‘Nou Lanmer’) BEST OVERALL La Retraite Primary (‘Pirat Lokal’)
MAY 2016 SN 33
you have to be in it to win it The UK Soca Monarch competition remains the only platform for soca artists to increase their brand awareness, and that places them in the spotlight during the extended period whilst the competition is promoted. The ultimate aim is to build a sustainable soca music industry here in the UK. This year’s competition will see reigning Power and Groovy Monarch Triniboi Joocie defend his title. Registration is now open, and artists have until the 3 June, 2016 to submit their entries, which are again divided into the two distinct categories of ‘Power’ and ‘Groovy’. The final will take place on Sunday 7 August - affectionately dubbed ‘Soca Monarch Sunday’. This event, produced by Soca News, will see artists battling it out to be crowned UK Soca Monarch 2016. This is an opportunity for artists to showcase their talent on a dedicated platform, so that their music may be heard and appreciated. Developments of the competition in 2016 include artists being backed by a live band, and increased prize money. Joseph Charles, publisher of Soca News and founder and promoter of the UK Soca Monarch competition, says, “This competition is all about the artists. It’s a way for them to promote and market themselves to a growing, socaloving audience”. If you are a soca artist, or know of someone whom you think has what it takes to be crowned UK Soca Monarch 2016, then register now at www.uksocamonarch.com/ register. The closing date for all entries is midnight, Friday 10 June, 2016.
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO GET IN TOUCH, PLEASE EMAIL ADMIN@UKSOCAMONARCH.COM OR TELEPHONE 0333 012 4643.
WHERE WILL YOU BE ON SOCA MONARCH SUNDAY? #UKSOCAMONARCH #SOCAMONARCHSUNDAY 34 SN MAY 2016
Carnivals &
Festivals Guide Looking for somewhere to go this summer? Here are just some of the carnivals and festivals taking place throughout the world and right here in the UK. Our flight partner Caribbean Reunion Club also has some of the best prices you will find anywhere, so give them a call on 020 7344 0101.
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Carnivals & Festivals Guide
R E U N I O N
13
MAY
Berlin - Carnival of Cultures BERLIN, GERMANY
The Berlin Karneval der Kulturen is a four day open-air festival with exotic food and drinks, concerts, performances, and parties. The colourful highlight of the festivities is the street parade, where more than 4,500 performers in authentic costumes, elaborately decorated floats, and musicians from over 70 different countries dance through the streets of Berlin. Soak up the samba rhythms, enjoy Brazilian drummers, Congolese singers, Korean culture groups, artistic larger than life puppets and a bit of Rio de Janeiro in the streets of the German capital - and not forgetting the growing Caribbean carnival contingent.
C LU B
28
MAY
Atlanta Caribbean Carnival ATLANTA, USA
web. atlantacarnivalbc.com
29
MAY
Luton International Carnival LUTON, UK
web. www.karneval-berlin.de/de/ english.175.html, email. info@karnevalberlin.de
20
MAY
Aalborg Karneval GERMANY
Aalborg Carnival began on May 28, 1983. It is an open-minded, vibrant carnival event with spectacular costumes, loads of humour, sex, freedom and fantasy. They have a sizeable street parade, with 25, 000 carnivalists and 100,000 spectators catching the magnificent wave of colours and fantasy along the parade route. web. www.aalborgkarneval.dk 36 SN MAY 2016
may 2016
for flight & travel info 020 7344 0101
30
MAY
Carnival in the park READING, UK
email. wearelimeevents@gmail.com
SOCANEWS
.COM/CARNIVALS
Luton International Carnival is 40! Go and help them celebrate on 29 May at Wardown Park, Luton. It’s going to be a great family day, with all the fun of the carnival in one place. In addition to the colourful parade, audiences can enjoy one of three sound sites, food from all cultures, fairground rides and experience the new health and wellbeing area with lots of fun activities for all the family. This year’s theme, ‘The Sky’s The Limit’, has been chosen to inspire people to live out their dream. The theme is open to interpretation by all the mas bands, which will hopefully result in a unique show for the 40th anniversary. You can find out more by visiting www. carnivalarts.org.uk, and there’s a new carnival map to download. Find them on Facebook at UK Centre for Carnival Arts, or send a carnival tweet to @carnivalukcca; remember to add #LIC40th. tel. 01582 437 111 web. www.carnivalarts.org.uk
june 2016
04
JUNE
oslo carnival NORWAY
web. karnevalioslo.no
11
JUNE
Preston Caribbean Carnival PRESTON, UK
Present day carnival across the world has its roots in an amazing range of nationalities, cultures, life styles and belief. Well-documented evidence of carnival exists in the form of celebrations, masquerades, songs and traditions of West African slaves, through Europe’s Romantic period of the 1600th century, to the post emancipation period of colonial Europe in the Caribbean. Carnival in Britain has it roots in the Caribbean. Like many things in life, Caribbean Carnival in Preston started somewhat spontaneously. In an attempt to remember the great carnival back home, West Indian immigrants organised a small procession through a few streets in Preston. They begged, bought and borrowed a host of materials, carried costumes and steel drums through some of the cobbled streets, in order to bring at least one day of sunshine and fantasy to Preston. email. info@prestoncarnival.co.uk, web. www.prestoncarnival.co.uk
11
JUNE
NORTHAMPTON CARNIVAL NORTHAMPTON, UK
Northampton Carnival’s theme this year is ‘Five Continents One Carnival’. Organisers are looking forward to the 12th year of the vibrant carnival with a Caribbean Flavour, supported by many local community groups and schools as well as visiting troupes from EMCCAN partners Derby, Nottingham and Leicester Caribbean Carnivals and from Bedford, Luton and London. The event will take place on Saturday 11 June, from noon until 7.30pm at Racecourse Park, Northampton, NN1 4LG – a change of venue from last year. There will be something for everyone, including live entertainment on stage, an exciting fun fair and a wide range of stalls. The carnival parade will leave the racecourse at 2pm and travel down the Kettering Road into the town centre, before returning to the park. tel. 01604 779 024, email. northamptoncarnival@yahoo.co.uk
23-25
JUNE
ST KITTS MUSIC FESTIVAL ST KITTS
June 2016 marks 20 years of the annual St. Kitts Music Festival, which this year, as usual, promises to be an exciting three days of great live music and unforgettable performances. This year the line-up includes regional artists Marcia Griffiths, Morgan Heritage, Damian Marley, Tarrus Riley and Kes the Band, North American acts 50 Cent and the O’Jays, and local musicians Nicha B and Shanna. The Fringe includes organised beach parties, boat rides, lunchtime concerts, official after parties, scenic railway tours and Slam Dunk contests. web. www.stkittsmusicfestival.com
24 -05 JUNE
JULY
VINCY MAS SAINT VINCENT
web. www.carnivalsvg.com
25
for flight & travel info 020 7344 0101
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA, USA
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JUNE
HOLLYWOOD CARNIVAL
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Carnivals & Festivals Guide
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02
03
LONDON,UK
HOUSTON, TEXAS, USA
JULY
GREENFORD CARNIVAL web. www.ealingsummerfestivals.com/ events/greenford-carnival
09
JULY
ACTON CARNIVAL LONDON,UK
web. www.ealingsummerfestivals.com/ events/acton-carnival
C LU B
JULY
Houston Caribbean Festival web. houstoncaribbeanfestival.com
10
JULY
Cowley Road Carnival OXFORD, UK
web. www.cowleyroadcarnival.co.uk
16
30
DERBY, UK
ROTTERDAM, HOLLAND
This year, Derby West Indian Community Association (DWICA) celebrates its 41st year of hosting Derby Caribbean Carnival in the city. This is a true flagship community cohesion event, that showcases a carnival troupe street procession consisting of over 400 participants from various cities in the UK such as Nottingham, Leicester, London, Leeds and, of course, Derby. Taking place on Saturday 16 July, the procession leaves Pear Tree School on a 3km route to the Market Place in Derby city centre. Despite losing local authority funding for the family fun day at Osmaston Park, DWICA recognises the importance of continuing the only African Caribbean event in Derby that attracts thousands of revellers from across the country to the city. They receive continued support from Arts Council England through the regional partnership EMCCAN.
First held on August 4, 1984 in Rotterdam as the ‘Antillian Summer Carnival’, the festival, which attracted around 900,000 visitors annually from 2004 to 2007, is now called Zomer Carnaval - Dutch for ‘Summer Carnival’. The climax of the Rotterdam Summer Carnival is the street parade, which is held on the Saturday. The carnival in 2015 was cancelled due to bad weather, which could make 2016 one of the biggest ever.
tel. 01332 371529, email. info@dwica.co.uk
web. rotterdamunlimited.com
JULY
derby caribbean carnival
38 SN MAY 2016
july 2016
for flight & travel info 020 7344 0101
JULY
Zomer Carnaval
18-19
JULY
st lucia carnival SAINT LUCIA
This being St Lucia, expect to hear an injection of zouk from neighbouring Martinique and Guadeloupe, bouyon from Dominica and soukous (from Democratic Republic of the Congo, via Dominica), in the music. There is also a liberal dose of Afro-beats from West Africa and electronic dance music being infused into the sound. Saint Lucian mas makers have succumbed to the trend for feathers, beads and bikinis, which some feel is killing the creativity and culture of the festival. The majority of bands provide an all-inclusive experience on the road, including premium food and drink, mobile toilets, tight security and pampering services along with a costume. Some also offer packages including tickets to a selection of the main fetes. Castries is the hub for Lucian Carnival. But it doesn’t stop there, as six districts from Gros Islet in the north to Vieux Fort in the south each host their own unique version of the festival. web. www.stluciancarnival.com
MAY 2016 SN 39
40 SN MAY 2016