Trinidad Carnival 2020 Fete Review
Yah want speed?! Lol Trini Carnival is pure PACE
I did 6 fetes over 3 days. Which basically means I did 2 fetes a day. Fatal error in fete selection is that I did too many of the same type of fete BUT the good thing is now I can compare 😈😈
Before we get into this I HAVE TO plug Bahamas Carnival and The Warm Up. The ultimate sweat fete where we’re not only getting you ready for the road, we’re welcoming you to Bahamas Carnival with pure wotlessness and beach! For more info check it out here.
The Last Mermaid Trinidad Carnival 2020 Fete List
Tribe Ignite: Large concert style fete hosted by Tribe. Live performances by various artists. Drinks and food vended
Silent Morning: All-inclusive boat Cruise on the Harbour Master.
Pandemonium: Jouvert style drinks inclusive fete
MC Boat Cruise: Boat Cruise cooler fete (punchy lunch shots and KFC inclusive)
Sunny Side Up: Either all-inclusive or cooler breakfast fete depending on which ticket you buy. I experienced the cooler fete option so I will speak to it that way
Carnival Island: Beach cooler fete/lime. Limited sponsored drinks inclusive.
Red Antz Jouvert: All-inclusive Jouvert style fete
One quick pro tip for cooler fetes while traveling. Walmart (in Atlanta) has $5 cooler bags you can pack it in your suitcase for cooler fetes! Also if you can’t find it at your local Walmart, here’s an inexpensive option from Amazon
Ok so let’s go!
Boat Cruise Fete
Silent Morning vs MC Boat Cruise
Silent Morning
So first of all shoutout @bahamianista and #CarnivalTwitter for helping me make new friends on this trip. BIG UP to @hakunasomevodkaa and @_lojo31 for being my fete buddies for Silent Morning. I would’ve been there by myself lool. Silent morning had to build the vibe like most parties do but for me it took a bit longer than expected. We cruised around a bit and docked at a nice beach but because we left so late we didn’t spend much time there. I think it was meant to be a cute and fun stop to vibe but it ended up being rushed. I never even got off the boat because they forwarded us that it would be leaving soon (id say less than 30 mins). Highs: making new friends, food including corn soup, bun(because it wasn’t bake) and shake, muffins for breakfast and crab dumplings and chicken for lunch. Lows: late start time (but that’s typical), first DJ wasn’t it and vibe had to build but it definitely got there
MC Boat Cruise
MC is a cooler Cruise but they had the option to purchase Hennessy or Moet. I flew a $5 cooler bag that I bought from Walmart and we bought our drinks from the grocery store before getting on the boat. Very short build up to vibe. I credit that to DJ Jel. He had us ready to go before we pulled off from the dock. when we first went to the resort where MC had an obstacle course set up they weren’t ready so we cruised around and then came back later on. While we were cruising MC served complementary KFC and gave out punchy punch shots. When we docked at the obstacle course MC informed us of food being on the shore but us having to get out and swim to get it. They were also encouraging patrons to try to make it to the end of the obstacle course. I have videos lmao. It was great. When it was time to go back we all go back on board and that’s when the real wotlessness started. Hands down. Amazing experience if you like PUMP
Silent Morning vs. MC Boat Cruise - winner goes to MC Boat Cruise
Concert Style Fete
Tribe Ignite vs Sunny Side Up
@mesmereyesing, Kerwin Du Bois, @_thelastmermaid
Tribe Ignite
Tribe Ignite was the first fete I went to on Wednesday night/Thursday morning. My driver was a little worried because I left for the fete by myself but I eventually met up with the Bahamians. The fete was at the Blue Range Courts in Diego Martin. It took a while to get in but eventually I got inside the fete. Ignite was drinks inclusive so after going through security I made my way to the bar and then to the stage. Kes and Voice performed Dear Promoter and I was vibing by myself. I eventually made my way back to the bar and found the other Bahamians and continued to drink and vibe with my FAMALAYLAY. ALSO saw Kerwin Du Bois so all and all great night and good start to the Carnival week for me. I left before Machel came on to perform because I had an early fete in the morning and planned on getting my 2 hour nap in.
@timmaaay_ and @_thelastmermaid
Sunny Side Up
Sunny Side Up was EVERYTHING. All the hell I went through to get there was totally worth it. If you want to know what I’m referring to, check it out here. After I got my cooler ticket (no I didn’t bring my cooler to this fete), I went inside and made my way to the food tent. We got food chits for 1 doubles and 1 other breakfast meal. I had my doubles and then I had my stew chicken and bake. Both were pretty good. Afterwards I used my vex money (because I was supposed to have an all inclusive ticket lol) and bought myself some puncheon and pineapple. I needed that lol. Once I started to get a vibe I made my way to the front of the stage to be close to when the performances would start. Eventually my friends (the other Bahamians) found me and the concert began for the vibes to truly kick off. We had performances by a local band called The A Team Band to warm us up followed by Patrice Roberts, Motto, Problem Child, and eventually Machel was going to perform but I left before he made it to the stage again. Apparently I wasn’t meant to see Machel live before the truck on Tuesday. When I say SSU was everything, it really was shoutout to @globalcarnivalist for the recommendation. Also, if you use my above tip about flying your cooler and you don’t care about the cup (it was nice btw - I saw it because my friends had it), save yourself a coin or two and only buy the cooler fete ticket and vibe with the commoners (like me) because it was a lot more fun than VIP (according to my friends).
Tribe Ignite vs Sunny Side Up - winner goes to Sunny Side Up
Jouvert Style Fete/Jouvert
Pandemonium vs Red Ants Jouvert
@cocktailsandpassports, @_cerelle_, @_thelastmermaid, @iamarquislewis
Pandemonium
Pandemonium is a jouvert style fete that came highly recommended by @bahamianista and everyone else on #CarnivalTwitter. Our driver, now friend, @iamarquislewis decided he was reveling with us for this one so we all decided to get there a bit early to get good parking. We waited a while to get in but eventually made our way inside where we got our light-up crowns and other illuminated goodies, then we moved on to a food stall to get some bake and salt fish, then finally over to the drinks truck to get our first cup for the night/morning. Once we started on the road the vibes began. The paint for Pandemonium is not as thick as paint usually is (which I think was a good thing), and we were able to vibe up and down the road to Soca and some Trini Dancehall. We even had a few live performances, one by Problem Child and another by Prince Swanny. Trini dancehall is high key a vibe and a force to be reckoned with. I good mix I was put on is by Trinibad see below!
@_thelastmermaid
Red Ants Jouvert
Ok this is where the true definition of PACE is found at Trinidad Carnival. Jouvert on Carnival Monday is where your true skills and preparation for what is carnival begins. Red Ants jouvert was Hawaiian themed and so everyone was dawned in their leis and some in their grass skirts. We walked up to the doubles cart for breakfast - best doubles I had while in Trinidad - and then went over for a drink from the drinks truck. Paint, powder, and water abounded during Red Ants Jouvert. I cannot describe Red Ants Jouvert as anything more than a GREAT TIME and pure vibes. I must admit, that Jouvert is my favorite style of fete and so this was one of my best fetes of the week. If you choose to only do one Jouvert-style fete and are choosing between Pandemonium and Red Ants, go with Red Ants - although Pandemonium was a GREAT time.
Pandemonium vs Red Ants Jouvert - winner goes to Red Ants Jouvert
Cooler Fete
Carnival Island vs MC Boat Cruise vs Sunny Side Up
@_cerelle_
This one will be hard because MC Boat and Sunny Side Up both had other aspects to it including either a Boat or Concert element so I will solely be comparing DJs/live band and vibe for this comparison. You already read about MC Boat Cruise and Sunny Side Up above so here’s the review on Carnival Island.
Carnival Island
@thelastmermaid, @cocktailsandpassports, @_cerelle_
We got to this fete a little early because our friend/driver is a committee member/was the lifeguard at the event. Carnival Island is held on a cute beachfront near Yacht Raff Up. Because we got there a little early we had a mini photoshoot. Carnival Island is a cooler style fete but they had some sponsored drinks there including Jose Cuervo and Stag so even if you didn’t bring your cooler (like us because I forgot it was a cooler fete) there were drinks there for purchase. We had a number of local and foreign DJs including DJ LL Cool Blaze from Miami and DJ and Producer Travis World. This was probably my favorite fete of the series because of it’s price and the vibes. Had I remembered the cooler I can only imagine how much more fun my crew and I would’ve had. When you walked into the event you saw the multiple cute instagram worthy photo ops including backdrops and waterfront swing. I didn’t capture a picture of this but even the restroom area although port-o-potties were equipped with mirrors to ensure you were fixed after using the bathrooms and a concierge. I could tell that the Bess Lime team put a lot of time and effort into planning the layout of this event. Also, unlike traditional Trinidad Carnival fetes Carnival Island played a mix of both soca and dancehall music. Blame the Bahamian in me but as much as I am a soca junkie I didn’t mind having some dancehall in the mix on Carnival Sunday evening. Also, as the Carnival culture evolves I wouldn’t be surprised if more and more fetes had dancehall music such that it becomes the norm. All in all, if you want to bolster your Trinidad Carnival fete list on a budget I say check out Carnival Island. It’s truly a BESS lime.
Carnival Island vs MC Boat Cruise vs Sunny Side Up - winner goes to Carnival Island
Carnival week is an expensive venture and experience. I hope that all of your fetes bring you happiness and vibes and that your concierge doesn’t stress you if you use them for tickets!
