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Trinidad and Tobago Carnival: Part 5 – Carnival Bands

8 February 2010 9,674 views 7 Comments
This entry is part 5 of 10 in the series Trinidad and Tobago Carnival

Trinidad and Tobago Carnival

This post was originally published on February 3, 2007. It has been updated once since then.

I was talking to a Brazilian friend a few years ago and she was surprised at some of the differences between our Carnival and theirs. You see it was a few weeks ago when she decided to look and see what costume/band she should play with. She was shocked when all the Trinis were like, whoa you are way too late. You see, here Carnival bands launch their designs in the final quarter of the previous year. Designs go on sale shortly after and the hottest sections sell out very quickly, sometimes within hours, as people put down their deposits. Several weeks before Carnival the actual costumes are ready for pickup with the rest of your deposit. Oftentimes people don’t have the money or desire to pick up their costumes. However since costumes are sized to the measurements of the buyer if you are trying to pick up a costume last minute you may be stuck with one that is 2 sizes too small, or too large :lol:

Carnival bands range from small local affairs to large elaborate franchises. They may focus on Las Vegas showgirl styled costumes, or on imaginative social commentaries and folklore. On Carnival Monday and Tuesday the bands file through the streets along a prior pre-approved route, complete with music trucks with live musicians and DJs. This route passes past viewing and judging points for the title of ‘Band of the Year’.

SIGHTS:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aforum/ / CC BY 2.0

Additional Carnival Band Links:

• National Carnival Bands Association of Trinidad and Tobago
• Trinidad Carnival Diary”
• 2010 Carnival Band Listing


SOUNDS:

What is Trinidad and Tobago Carmival?

Carnival is not just for the adults though :) Before the adults have their time in the sun the children also have their turn with their very own Kiddies Carnival

Kiddies Carnival

For many Trinis this is where they first get their taste of ‘mas’ :D I never played in the big Kiddie Carnival but always took part in my prep school’s private one :D

You can see some lovely Kiddie Carnival pics (like the one above) at the website for the carnival band Spoilt Rotten Kids :)

TASTES:

Trinidad Saltfish Accra

Saltfish Accra – fried shredded saltfish in a highly seasoned dough, served with pepper sauce :)

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7 Comments »

  • musik said:

    what a great post, i like it

    # 10 July 2009 at 4:39 am | link
  • Cynthia said:

    Hey, I was hoping to contact you by email but I don’t see a contact email for you on the site. Anyways, I wanted to let you know that at least one of your photographs have been stolen by this site: http://www.burdenclothing.com See this link: http://www.burdenclothing.com/pages/blog/2009/05/10/cook-this-mauby/

    I’d advise that you go through the site thoroughly.

    I had found 16 of my images stolen. I contacted them and they removed them within 24 hours.
    Cynthia´s last blog ..Want to make a Trini Pelau? My ComLuv Profile

    # 8 February 2010 at 10:10 am | link
  • Cynthia said:

    Here’s another one: http://www.burdenclothing.com/pages/blog/2009/04/19/cook-this-sorrel-drink/
    Cynthia´s last blog ..Want to make a Trini Pelau? My ComLuv Profile

    # 8 February 2010 at 10:15 am | link
  • Sarina (author) said:

    Dear Cynthia, thanks so much! Am in the process of updating my watermarks.. *sigh*. Did you send them an email? Sorry about the lack of contact form, going through some backend site renovations, should be back up this week :)

    # 8 February 2010 at 1:28 pm | link
  • Sarina (author) said:

    Hey Cynthia, thanks again. Going through the site. In most cases my watermark is still intact which is usage that I am fine with. But seeing some miscredits so will let them know :) as well as if I cfind any with watermarks removed.

    # 8 February 2010 at 1:31 pm | link
  • Tuty said:

    Hi Sarina,
    I enjoy this carnival series. The Kiddies Carnival looks so adorable.

    # 8 February 2010 at 2:19 pm | link
  • Sarina (author) said:

    Thanks Tuty! It’s been fun rewriting/updating the series :) Maybe next year I’ll share my own kiddie carnival pics as a child :)

    # 8 February 2010 at 4:44 pm | link

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