The Rounds: Ma$tamind Productions to drop two albums for Christmas

In this Edition:

- Cambridge Carnival

- The parang season starts now!

- Two Christmas albums for Ma$tamind Productions

- Belize Road March postponed

- Bunji and Fay Ann promote their own Miami Carnival Fete

Originally broadcast on Flow 93.5 FM's Soca Therapy on Sunday, September 13, 2009

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Good Evening Soca Lovers,

I’m Nurse Karen and these are Dr. Jay’s Rounds. After a couple of weeks in the U. S. of A., I'm BACK!!! I made my first visit to a very cold and rainy Boston Carnival, I hung out in New York, doing some major networking with some soca heads over there. Then I took in some Labor Day action in Brooklyn.

This weekend, Massachusetts is jumping up again at Cambridge Carnival. If you’ve never heard of it, that’s because it’s usually overshadowed by the festivities held across the river in Boston. Cambridge is the community where you find prestigious universities like Harvard and M.I.T. 2009 marks the first year that Cambridge has held its celebration on a different weekend than its Beantown neighbour. At a balmy 26 degrees Celsius, carnival goers in Massachusetts must be happy they gotta a second chance at carnival this year.

Here in Toronto, we may be just getting ready to say goodbye to summer, but Trinidad and Tobago is moving full speed ahead into the Christmas Season. Yesterday, the world’s largest Parang music festival began in at the Arima Velodrome. Between now and January there are 13 scheduled shows featuring 36 bands. That means four straight months of Christmas!


Speaking of Christmas, I’m getting in the spirit too. While in New York, I found out that Mastamind Productions will be releasing two Holiday albums in 2009. One of them will be their much anticipated Parang and Soca Parang album, A Mastamind Christmas. But the second will be a compilation of Caribbean Artistes performing holiday classics in styles ranging from rock to jazz. Oh, and by the way....yours truly, Nurse Karen, recorded a spoken word piece called “Question’s for Mary” that will also be on the album.

But no worries Soca massive, we still have lots of time before we gotta think about shopping or snow or anything like that. Well..I sure hope so, anyway. Before Christmas...is Carnival.

Belize was supposed to be jumping up this weekend, however the organizers made a last minute to shift the street party to next weekend, in favour of a hosting a large scale cultural fair instead. Belize road march will take place next Saturday instead.

Now, if somehow you didn’t catch this news the first time around. Please allow me to remind you that South Florida will be having just ONE Carnival on our Thanksgiving weekend. For the last few years, two separated parades of the bands were hosted on the very same day, one in the city of Miami, and one about 40 minutes north in Broward County.

But 2009 is all about unity. ...
Bunji and FayAnn are taking advantage of the special occasion to host their own signature event that weekend called Miami Vice. They’ve invited a handful of their friends in the business to put on a star studded show featuring the likes of Beenie Man, Denise Belfon, Benjai, Problem Child, Sizwe C, Hunter, Trini Jacobs, and Skinny Fabulous.

What you think? Shall we book a little vacation? I’m Nurse Karen and those were Dr. Jay’s rounds. For more info on everything you’ve heard here, surf on to my blog at Nurse dash Karen dot com. Now, back to de Docta!

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