Review : Trinidad and Tobago Cultural Village in London

Its been 20 days since the Opening of  the Trinidad and Tobago Cultural Village. I am guessing by now most of you all would have visited. Probably to take your kids and enjoy the children's workshop, the dance workshop, music workshop, browse around 'the trade expo', enjoy the delicious dishes of Trinidad, liming round d 'rum shop' bar area or even just to sit , relax and enjoy performances from Orange Sky,3Canal and Machel and the HD family to name a few.

Well for those who have visited thus far, I would really love to hear what you all think of the Village, because i have a fair amount to write ,
My personal views :

• The Location - I thought it was a bit far but we all managed to get to and fro, but I will suggest in the future that a more central venue is sourced.
• The Venue - Loved the décor at the Tricycle it really did give you that feeling as tho you stepped out of a travel machine that took you straight to Trinidad with no stopovers lol lol .                          Despite the village scoring A+ on the decor I must say the size of the venue definitely could have been bigger especially with the amount of people that gathered for 2 of the mass bands AWL (after work lime) and for Machel concert. A bigger venue definitely would have been much better.
• Trade expo - this bit I was definitely disappointed with. Its my understanding that this area should have been dedicated to exhibiting goods and services from Trinidad/UK and Trinidad, and all this was lacking. The trade expo room only had tables set up with some Matouk's products, Sacha Cosmetics some exotic chocolate and the some UK carnival bands showcasing their 2012 presentation.                                                           In my opinion if we are showcasing Trinidad I am pretty sure we could have come way better than what's on display in that room. Is that all Trinidad trade has to offer?                                                                                                                    However the Gallery offered a much better feel and vibe for our Trinidadian Artists and Culture..Some of the art work were for display purposes and some were for sale
• Food - the food huts are set up at the entrance and are brilliantly decorated to look like beach huts which were appropriately named after  places and dishes in Trinidad...( Debe Roti shop,Woodbrook Cafe ) the food wasn't bad as well, each hut had a different menu , either Pelau,bbq chicken, roti,doubles,phlourie ,trini sweets, and ice cream to name a few. (all food and drink purchased must be paid for with chits...the venue does not take card )
• Entertainment - despite the theatre being small , I must say I loved the intimate (sold out) small audience feel when listening and watching 3 Canal and Machel perform...the vibes will always be there because trinis know how to enjoy themselves . Fantastic performances from all artist that came and perform

So my final verdict : if you have kids on their school holidays and you are looking for something for them to do, check out the Village schedule and entertain them with the various workshops, but don't expect much from the 'Trade expo though', there is not much in there that will attract you besides the carnival costumes. The best bit of the village (besides the liming by the rum shop  ;) ) is the evening entertainment. The village did put together a brilliant line from Soca music,comedy,story telling,steel pan ,jazz, film festival  and many others.

You still have almost 2 weeks left. So check out the schedule and see what interests you and head over. 

A quick look at some photos from the Village from over the 2 weeks I have been and a few photos from a couple of the days with Machel in concert the balance of the pictures can be found on the Facebook page  

 Entrance

Entrance and Food Area

Gallery

Trade expo 

Entertainment 

 More Photos HERE