Blazin' de Trail

On the road with IVM

By Zahra Gordon

From the top of the hill – or in this case, boulevard – to the bottom of the valley, Island Vibes Magazine was there to cover the 2008 Miami Carnival Parade and Festival. This is our Carnival Diary.

Saturday October 11: Fete!

Carnival Saturday night was jam packed with feting opportunities, but IVM was more than satisfied with one – F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Miami Carnival Edition headlined by Iwer George. The fete, held at the Sosta Lounge, boasted five DJs including Hypa Hoppa and RadioActive direct from Trinidad, and Sprang International, C.I.Dee Sound and Major Links. These DJs set the mood for the performance so that when Iwer hit the stage, we were ready. And “The Boss” was surely no disappointment.

Sunday October 12: Parade!

The parade came down Biscayne Boulevard Sunday afternoon full of happy revelers and colorful costumes. The parade ended in Bicentennial Park, or “De Savannah,” where judging of the bands took place, food and merchandise was on sale, and revelers could enjoy performance by the likes of Shurwayne Winchester, Faye-Ann Lyons, Bunji Garlin and Crossovah. One particularly touching aspect of “De Savannah” was the memorial stage for late mas-man and founder of Miami Carnival, Selman Lewis. On a brighter note, Miami Carnival was also jam packed with mas bands. In our opinion, the brightest of these was Generation X with their presentation of ‘Birds.’ This band’s masqueraders were truly spirited and yes, their bikinis were decorated the best!

Sunday October 12: Fete After Fete!

After all that jumping up at F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and in “De Savannah,” it was nice to attend the cooler fete EDEN. This fete boasted DJs from New York, Trinidad, Toronto, and of course Miami. There were just too many DJs to list but probably the most notable of these was Mr. Slaughter who works on the road with Tribe mas band in Trinidad. As we were cooling down it was nice to see some of our favorite artists – Crossovah – stop by, not to mention Stacy-Ann from America’s Next Top Model and Attorney Marlon Hill, representing Miami Carnival sponsor Delancey Hill, PA.

Aftermath

The vibe was definitely “hot like fiyah” in Miami. With the mix of tropical weather great parties and wonderful mas bands, Miami Carnival is truly the closest to an island style carnival in America. IVM is looking forward to Miami Carnival 2009, but we may have to forego reporting – we’ll need more time to fete!

For footage of IVM in Miami, check out our Multimedia section.

(Zahra Gordon is a contributor to Island Vibes Magazine and writes about Caribbean culture and entertainment. For comments, please feel free to contact her at zahra@islandvibesmag.com.)