After three nights of jumping up, whining down, and drinking rum, the day I was waiting for finally arrived—Carnival day in Atlanta. Though I got home at 7am from partying all night at the non-wet fete, I was excited about hitting “de road” and jumping up in a band. Despite a weary body and slightly red eyes, I was ready to hit the road at 11:30am. I called Nevis but he didn’t pick up. I assumed (correctly as I would find out later) that he was asleep, since after partying all night, he also had to drop everyone home. Normally, I would have been in bed too after a long night but I couldn’t sleep if I wanted to jump up in “de band”. I found out that unlike New York’s Carnival, or even Boston’s Carnival, Atlanta’s Carnival had bands on the road for only 2 hours (yes I said 2 hours, it is not a typo), and not all day (i.e., 6am -7pm). According to its website, Atlanta Carnival consisted of two parts—the parade of bands (12pm-2pm) and carnival village (10am-10pm).
Before I continue, I will explain what I mean by bands for those who don’t know. In Caribbean carnivals, bands usually consist of two major parts: 1) the live band and 2) the masqueraders. The band (or in some cases, DJ system) plays on top of a large flatbed truck, while the masqueraders are on the road either in front or behind the truck, dancing and showcasing their costumes to onlookers, as they parade down the carnival route (this is commonly referred to as “playing mas”). Masquerader costumes range from large, masterfully built costumes, which a masquerader stands in and pushes around, to coordinated t-shirts. Since I was a little girl “playing mas” with my preschool class in Dominica, I understood “playing mas” as being the oldest and the largest part of carnival.
I was shocked, and extremely disappointed, when I found out that at a carnival that was over 20 years old, the parade of bands was such a small part of the carnival experience. I really wanted to see the parade of bands and masqueraders, but I realized that it would be a waste of time to rush Nevis out of bed to go see it. It was 11:30am; by the time, we drove down there, found parking, and found the carnival route, the parade would probably be over. The only thing that I would realistically be able to attend is the carnival village. It was open all day (until 10pm) and was supposed to have food, arts, crafts, and performances by various soca and calypso artists, including WCK (DA MASSIVE!!!), The Red Hot Flames, Denise Belfon, and many others. The carnival village is an integral part of most Caribbean carnivals. In Dominica, the village hosts the majority of the other carnival events, including all-night concerts, the Calypso King competition (music competition), and the Carnival Queen pageants (special shout out to my mummy and my cousins Samirah and Michelle who have won the title of Carnival Queen/Teen Queen). So, attending the carnival village seemed like a good way to get a sense of the carnival experience in Atlanta, especially since it made up the majority of Atlanta Carnival.
Around 4pm, Nevis picked me up and we made our way down to downtown Atlanta for the carnival. Since neither of us had ever attended Atlanta Carnival before, we didn’t know what to expect. We had been on “de road” together at several New York Carnivals in the past 5 years and had similar views about (American) Caribbean carnivals. We both revel in jumping up in several bands as we make our down the carnival route. So, when I tell you about what we found, you will understand why it disappointed both of us.
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