Upcoming UK Mas Band Launches for MAY 2013

MAY 2013 list of upcoming UK Mas Band Launches

Note: Listed in order of date

DRAGONS MAS BAND - 2013 Launch 4th May @ Euphorium
Events & Info : Facebook

RUFF DIAMOND - 2013 Presentation 04th May 2013 @ The Edge Night Club

Event Details :  Facebook Events

Website: RuffDiamond

BACCHANALIA MASBAND - 2013 Presentation 05th May 2013 @ Starlight Suite

Event Details :  Facebook Events

Ticket Details : EventBright 

Website: Baccmas

SOUTH CONNECTIONS - 2013 Presentation 'Bem Vindo Ao Brasil' 11th May 2013 @ Protocol South London

Event Details :  Facebook Events

Ticket Details : EventBright 

Website: South Connections

BAJAN REVELLERS : 2013 'Tribal Fantasy' 2013 Launch Friday 3rd May @ Caravaggio in the city

Event Details :  Facebook Events

Ticket Details : EventBright 

Website: Bajan Revellers

EUPHORIA : Presents their 2013 Costumes and theme Masquerade designed by Anya Ayoung Chee  16th May @ Piccadilly Institute 

VYBZ MAS BAND :24TH MAY @ CANALOT STUDIOS

Event Details :  Facebook Events

Ticket Details : check Facebook for contacts

Facebook : Vybz Mas

POISON UK : 25TH May @ TBC

Event Details :  Facebook Events

Ticket Details : 

Website: 

LAGNIAPPE MAS AND PURE LIME BAND LAUNCH : 26TH MAY @ SOUTHERN BELLE

Event Details :  Facebook Events

Ticket Details : see facebook

Facebook : Southern Belle

COCOYEA BAND LAUNCH : 27TH MAY @ THE FLYOVER BAR

Event Details :  Facebook Events

Ticket Details : see facebook

Website : Soca News

Facebook : Cocoyea 

Reading Carnival 2013 CANCELLATION!!!!!!

2013 CARNIVAL CANCELLATION STATEMENT

The New Committee of the Reading Community Carnival, would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the participants and attendees of the 2012 35th Anniversary Carnival event, for making the day a great success. We have been encouraged by the larger crowd in attendance and the positive feedback we have received, that our efforts and vision for what the event should be are working towards the community’s expectations. These changes, however, do come at a cost.

After careful consideration and consultation meetings with relevant parties, we have reluctantly made the difficult decision to cancel the forthcoming carnival for this year 2013. We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused those who have planned to participate. This decision has been made as a result of the rising costs incurred by the event and the lack of funding that is available to us in the current year. Reading Carnival has experienced a reduction in the amount of investment available to it in previous years. The new committee is now tasked with planning new projects to increase the financial viability of the next event, as well as renewing positive links with the wider community. This will take an additional amount of time to achieve, for what is a small voluntary organisation. The committee will also be working towards ensuring there is sufficient funding to sustain activities in the years to come. 

We have formed strong links and will continue to work closely with Reading Borough Council departments, Thames Valley Police, Reading Buses and other agencies, in order to improve our event. All of these agencies have offered their generous support to the event over the years and are committed to continuing to do so in the future. We would like to ask our community to also offer us their continued support in this transition period, and to our planned projects and Carnival events. 

If you would like to take part in helping us make Carnival 2014 and all future events bigger and brighter, please contact us at any of the address below. We look forward to working with our community in the future.
Please follow us on all social media for regular updates of events, and other information:

Reading Carnival, 35-39 London Street, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 4PS

email: info@readingcarnival.org.uk

Tel: 07572 405026

www.facebook.com/ReadingCarnival
Twitter: @ReadingCarnival
Instagram: readingcarnival
YouTube: youtube.com/user/ReadingCarnivalUK
Website : Reading Carnival

UK Carnival Dates

Hey, just the other day i received a couple mails requesting dates on certain UK carnivals . So i decided to create a Tab link (see here) of all UK Carnivals and their expected dates for 2013 and the future. So i do hope this answers a lot of your question and prove very informative to the rest. :)

NOTE : I will also do another for the rest of Europe, so look out for that .

UK Cities

JUNE
Preston Carnival

Reading Carnival

Tottenham Carnival

Twickenham Carnival

JULY
Acton Carnival

Cardiff Carnival

Coventry Caribbean Festival

Derby Caribbean Carnival

Huddersfield Carnival

Liverpool Carnival

Luton Carnival

Northampton Carnival

St. Pauls Carnival

AUGUST 
Brixton Splash

Hackney Carnival

Leeds Carnival

Leicester Carnival

Manchester Carnival

Notting Hill Carnival

Nottingham Carnival

Ryde Carnival

Stoke on Trent

                                                                                                        

Random Pics from UK carnival over the years

Image: theSun.co.uk

Image: Huffington post

Image: Huffington post

NOTICE : Preston Caribbean Carnival 2013

FYI -  PRESTON CARIBBEAN CARNIVAL 2013

For all those living in or near the Preston area and interested in having a say about the 2013 Preston Carnival then please read the notice below and feel free to attend the meeting.

Preston Caribbean Carnival 2013

News Letter 17th Jan 2013

Preston Caribbean Carnival 1st public meeting of 2013.

Jalgos Sports & Social Club, Preston

27 Jan 2013 05:00

Public Meeting

Preston Carnival invited members of the public to attend

Preston Caribbean Carnival 1st public meeting of 2013.

It will be held at 5:00 on the 27th Jan 2013

Preston Caribbean Carnival Committee needs input from the community about carnival for 2013 and beyond.

Come meet the new committee and put forward your Ideas or concerns.

Learn how you can get involved in carnival by been a volunteer or taking part in the procession.

Please help support Preston’s Caribbean carnival by attending.

spread the word about the meeting.

Jalgos Sports & Social Club, Preston

Rose Street, PR1 3XY Preston, Lancashire

View Larger Map

New Band for 2013

The UK Carnival Mass band list is an ever increasing one, as we seem to have many new bands popping up every so often to join in the Nottinghill Hill Madness that is 'Carnival'.

So far for 2012 we had  Euphoria Mass band join the bandwagon, now we have for 2013 The 'FUNATIKS' lead by Martin J and crew.

What is known, is that Martin J is the Mastermind behind this new band, with a team of experienced musical and Carnival minds. Their aim is to bring a total Caribbean experience to all their Masqueraders.
Their 2013 costume although not yet revealed will be designed by the likes of Ronnie and Caro from Trinidad. So with that you can expect great things from this band.

The Funatiks will be launching there band, (no costumes, just introducing themselves to the UK world) as well as celebrate Martin J and Sharon's Birthday.

INFO : Saturday 3rd November 2012 @ Agenda 

updated with Photos

Photos from the launch of Funatik , pictures taken from Trinis in London

Question Time!!!!!

Question : Do you think it is necessary to have a Thank you party?

I am only asking as it was on my mind for a FEW weeks now since i have been waiting for all Thank You Parties, and it dawned on me, do we really need THEM?

Only in the UK I have known Mass Bands to have the titled 'Thank you party' events after NHC (nottinghill carnival) and most people just look forward to them. Why???..... When in truth Mass bands could just Say Thank you by email to all masqueraders and offer a nice 'thank you' discounts to any other upcoming fetes.
Its never been like that in Trinidad...after Carnival you had your las lap and then lent then looking forward to next years Carnival with all band launches, that was it...

So really is there a need????

1 Thank you Party so Far????? Dat aint right!!!!!

So far 1 Thank you Party?????... I could be wrong, there could have been others that must of  to slip by me : /....Anyway, Pure Lime Chocolate Mass is having their Thank you Party This Sunday 14th at 2pm at the Southern Belle in Fulham. I am excited to have a lil curry que yayyy!!!! must think of my belly first :D

Now my question is : on their invite it says carnival wristbands entry free .....  without £5.00 ...the price aint bad...but seriously!!!!! who still have they wristbands from carnival? cause  I don't. When I saw that I really had to laugh. Come next year I keeping all my wristbands from every fete as well,cause you never now if i will get a discount with it....lmao...

Please tell me who still have their Carnival wristbands and for what band?

http://www.facebook.com/events/445066825535204/?ref=nf

Thank you !!! Thank you!!! Thank you !!!!

Well a month has past and my NHC Tabanca still here.....and i am really in the mood for a party....so my question is, when are all the THANK YOU PARTIES gona start????

I pray it is welllllll before it gets any colder out here.

Come on Bands speed up the Party Planning process......

Notting Hill Carnival Review!!!!! yes yes Finally

Finally (2 weeks 2 late lol lol ) I'm doing this review on my 2012 NHC experience...more so about the bands I played with.

Sunday Mas

Played with :  Pure Lime -Chocolate mas

Sunday mass has always been an enjoyable day for me and this year hasn't failed.

Meeting point: As always, meeting the band was easy to find. I believed we left the meeting point on time...(i guess) i was too busy drinking and enjoying myself  before we even left the meeting point to chip down the road ,to study what time it was, lol lol lol.

Costume / Goodie bag : not much can be said , just the usual t shirt and same standard Goodie bag items,condom,tea samples,cup etc. nothing spectacular.

Food and drink: we were served breakfast, lunch and snacks. The food tasted ok , but once again it was pelau (every year *sigh*), i know pelau is the easiest to make for the masses, but please please another dish next year.
Drinks was on flow from early and i had no problems getting any drinks. Thumbs up!

Music: On point ,besides for the constant chipping music (i.e very groovy, slow Soca) we needed a bit more fast tune/ wuk up tunes. Other than that was still good vibes.

Security: This is where I would say my only major grievance is. I didn't  think they had enough security or that they were doing their jobs well , so there were a lot of stormers in the band and because it was chocolate mass , the  stormers were already covered in chocolate so its was hard to tell who really supposed to be in the band or not so i was annoyed  that after i paid for my enjoyment , the stormers came in their numbers and enjoyed just as much as me or even more for free....which has me thinking should i even bother to pay next year??? Not play,PAY!!!! Lol lol 

Vibe / Atmosphere : despite the stormers...the vibe was great. 

Monday Mas

Played with :  Euphoria Carnival

As this was a new band expectations were high,not only from me but from many of my friends and other masqueraders.  Euphoria linked them selves with Tribe in Trinidad and that made everyone expect a Tribe standard of costume and customer service. Having said that ,these are the collective thoughts of myself and friends that played with Euphoria

Goodie bag : love the choice of the Box/Bag type that we got our costumes in,that was very original compared to the the other bands i have played with before. The Goodie bag which was a branded euphoria knapsack contained a bandanna,cup,pot of olives, trolley pound key-chain,spa voucher,condom, Euphoria tattoo and notepad. I must admit i thought we would have gotten more things in it,i was a little disappointed with that but at least they made up with the quality of the items we received. 

Costume : Pretty mas -The standard and quality of the costumes and head pieces far exceeded most of the other bands at Nottinghill Carnival.The Choice of colours for a first year beautiful and look magnificent on the road, although the bra and pantie came up a bit on the small side.

Party woman - Again, Euphoria topped it with the  “fun mas” design it was wayyyyyyyy better than other bands i have come across at NHC in years. Keeping away from the t-shirts sections and random mixes of any costume goes, was a brilliant decision. The idea of a hot shorts with a piece of cloth to design however you wanted was another great touch. My only Suggestion on this is that for some people who aren't that creative a few more videos can be posted on FB or a leaflet in the goodie bag on ideas to tie or cut the fabric would have been great. Also the addition of neck, arm and leg pieces for the fun mas 'party woman' really made you get your monies worth.

Meeting point : After receiving this information quite late finding the meeting point wasn't a problem. Suggestion! send that information out before or make sure all masqueraders have a printed copy in their Costume bag.

Food and drink: we got served breakfast, lunch and a couple snacks on the way although not everyone got snacks.I am not even sure if announcements were made or not but not everyone were aware they had more snacks options other than Corn Soup, which tasted great but wasn't even enough.                                    The Lunch although it tasted good I honestly wished I had the other option.(just being tired of eating pelau)  From what i understand there was another option i believe macaroni pie and something, but to be honest I wasn't even told or asked what option , i was just given a container of pelau. And as i mentioned above for Sunday Mas Pelau AGAIN .we need to get other lunch option for carnival..PLEASE!! 

Drinks However was on point, premium NON STOP drinks ,and bar staff walking around the band giving shots...that was fantastic....I enjoyed getting drunk with Euphoria :D

Music: All the Djs were brilliant (DJ Markee, Kern & Baddis sounds) I even shocked myself  as the dance music set they played at some point was fantastic. 

Having Machel on The Truck Made My day. That was an unexpected and pleasant surprise .. :D

Security:  Unlike Sunday Mas there was evidence there was a heavy security presence and boy were they tough clearly they were very committed to their job. Great job!!.

Vibe / Atmosphere : Excellent one of the best experiences i have had at Nottinghill Carnival. Well done on a 1st year in the game.

How was your carnival experience?

Nottinghill Carnival Links to Photo Albums (updated)

So unfortunately my Camera was either lost or stolen so i was unable to upload my numerous pics i took :( so i salvaged some from my friends. You can find those on Facebook...

However for some more pics of Nottinghill Carnival please see the links below.

(i am not affiliated with any of these groups. i have just sourced pics that showcase NHC 2012 that everyone can appreciate)

Facebook pics

Euphoria Carnival pics

TrinisinLondon  pics 1   pics 2   pics 3

Poison UK 

Bacchanalia Pics

A few pics from Facebook page

keep checking for updated links :)

Full NHC recap /Review SOON!!!

Full NHC recap / review coming soon.....look out for pictures on Facebook

Costume Collection

So I have received my email for my Costume Distribution dates...WOOP WOOPP!!!!! EXCITEMENTS!!!!

will update this post with pics of my collection and my costumes and goodie bags ....watch dis space :D

Notting Hill Carnival 4 DAYS LEFT!!!!!!!!!!

 

4 days left till we on d road with we chosen bands.. I AM EXCITED!!!!!!!!

I have decided to play with the new band Euphoria, so this should be exciting.... I will be sure to give a FULL review of them come Tuesday...its only fair  :)

So I am sure by now, every band has stated their distribution dates....so all we need is to pay we balance, collect we costumes, organise we accessories( if haven't done before) ,organise what make up ideas we working with...make sure we carnival tights have no holes ...lol lol we have a matching pair of trainers....(well not necessarily matching but hey why not...lol)....and we set....now time to go enjoy all the pre carnival parties..

MY CARNIVAL SCHEDULE: (check calender at side for details)

Thursday:  Posion AWL and Abir AWL
Friday :  Buspepper Bacchanal Friday and Poion UK Carnival Friday Concert
Saturday - Shipwrecked and Tears
Sunday : Chocolate mas
Monday : Euphoria !!!!!

phew!!!!! i feeling tired already from listing the fetes i attending this weekend...its only PACE!!!!!!

SO LETS GO!!!!!! BRING ON NHC WEEKEND !!!!!!!

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