Booster Shot: Miami and Broward Carnivals reunite in 2009!

I think this is excellent news.  In 2009, Miami carnival is preparing to celebrate 25 years of Caribbean carnival in South Florida.  For the past few years, two separate groups have help competiting events on the same day in the area.  Guess what!?!? Caribbean people are coming togoether....

Source: TropicalFete.com

Miami-Broward One Carnival Host Committee, Inc. to Celebrate the 25th Anniversary Celebration of Miami Carnival on Sunday, October 11, 2009

Embracing the Notions of Change-Two Major Teams Join Forces

Miami, FL-May 2009-The Miami-Broward One Carnival Host Committee will celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Miami Carnival on Sunday, October 11, 2009 at Bicentennial Park in Miami, Fl. After six years of having two Caribbean Carnivals on the same day in South Florida, both Miami Carnival Inc. (MCI) and Broward Caribbean Carnival Inc. (BCCI) have signed an agreement to implement the One Carnival Host Committee Initiative. This spirited collaboration serves as the foundation of a united Carnival celebration in South Florida. This agreement was signed on May 11, 2009 by Ruthven William (Chairman/Founding Member of MCI) and Mario Zamora (Director/Founding Member of BCCI).

In past years, both Miami and Broward Caribbean Carnivals have had a significant impact...

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Nurse's Lounge: Krosfyah blazes up Broward Carnival

Check out my footage of Krosfyah at Broward Carnival. You ever wonder if they have somebody in the band just to massage dem boys after the wuk up? Hmmmm....

Play close attention. You'll notice the drummer has a bit of an emergency. The snare breaks, and he continues to accompany Khiomal for "Unleash the Beast" without missing a beat! LITERALLY!!!!!

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Nurse's Lounge: (Video) Miami and Broward Carnival...see for yourself!

Here's the souvenir I got you from Miami and Broward Carnivals!

Enjoy, and be sure to share with all your friends...

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Nurse's Lounge: Broward Carnival, and more Fyah!

Soca people. You know I'm gonna tell you the truth right. Here it is. Broward was better! Organizing a carnival is serious hard work. It doesn't help when a faction breaks away to do their own thing. So, this is not a criticism...just a comparison. Broward, TO ME, felt more like carnival. More space. More people behind the bands. More variety of cuisine. More people as a whole. More Fyah!

Met up with some of the Vincy crew to take a jump, now that was wild!

When we arrived, I was not about to let the rain dampen my spirits. After seeking shelter a couple times I thought to myself....what's the worst that could happen? My lil stick-on ponytail gets wet. Boo hoo. Exactly...who cares? It's carnival.

According to organizers, Broward Carnival had more then 13 thousand paying patrons. If you include vendors, mas bands, performers and media ( LIKE ME!!!) That number mushrooms to 20 thousand people attending. I think some of those extra people stormed the gate, but that's just between you and me.

Backstage with Rikki Jai, Trinidad's Soca Chutney General

You should have seen people going mad behind Red Hot Flames on the road. That band has real energy, and the crowd sought it, caught it and threw it back. The main stage boasted a very international line-up with performances from the likes of Byron Lee and the Dragonaires (Jamaica), Rikki Jai (Trinidad), Traffik (Trinidad),and Krosfyah (Barbados).

Krosfyah posing, just before they brutalized up the stage!

Big dutty big up to the drummer. He actually smashed his snare in the middle of the performance. He kept playing the kit with one hand as the drum was replaced. No one had a clue. I have video of that. So check for it soon on Nurse Karen TV

It was a personal pleasure to meet Jumo Primo. He sings lead for Byron Lee. If you don't know...he and Adrian Dutchin are partners in a group called X2 (Times Two) outta Guyana. Both of them are busy touring with accomplished bands based in Jamaica and Bimshire respectively. But they continue to be great friends, and still work together to mash up Mashramani Carnival in Guyana.

Nurse Karen and X2 at Broward Carnival

That show was mad. Thank you to the Broward Carnival Committee for showing me such great hospitality. Before I go, I wanna send some love to Miss Juliette Mills outta St. Kitts. It was a pleasure for me to catch her live for the first time. She's got a few impressive tracks under her belt and I really look forward to hear more in the upcoming year.

Nurse Karen and Juliette Mills

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Nurse's Lounge: Miami Carnival...was OK.

My stint in Miami is coming to a close, after all today is carnival day! I haven't had much sleep...but there are two big limes going on today that were the whole reason for the trip. ...And we're off!

You may not know that there are actually two different carnivals in South Florida held the Sunday before Columbus day. When people say Miami carnival, ya hadda check and be sure that Miami is what they really mean and not Broward. Broward County is home to more West Indians than Miami proper. It is home to the city of Fort Lauderdale, and located to the north of Miami-Dade.

We decided to hit Miami carnival first. It seems to be the more popular destination for the younger crowd. But, I'm having a hard time understanding why. At the height of the day, I estimate Bicentennial Park held no more than about 6 thousand people. You all know I'm from Toronto...so if you know the Caribana scene, that figure about represents the combined population of revellers in about 5 T.O. mas bands.

Miami Carnival charges a $20 admission fee for access to the festival grounds. The main reason would be to compensate the artists who are official performers at Carnival. I understand why they do it, but I feel like carnival in its very essense belongs to the people. Ah feel, it could be the sweetest jump-up in the heart of America's sexiest city...if the walls could come down (so to speak).

Later in the evening Miami was treated to performances by Skinny Fabulous, Ricky T, Teddyson John, Bunji, Faye-Ann...and more! I missed THAT action because I had moved on to Broward by then. What I saw was a very tame lime in the sun, but the artists tell me the energy picked up in time for the stage show.

Here's a shot from later that same night with Skinny Fabulous and Teddyson John

I'll tell you about this fete later!!!! Sweet, yes!

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Nurse's Lounge: Black and White Fete...

I have a confession. I roll out late. The fete was to begin at midnight. Judging from the crowd I met there, people arrived at midnight. I showed up....later.

Well, one benefit of a late arrival is that people are definitely in the mood for a great time by the time you reach...and the dance floor is on fire. We were at the Grand Palms Resort for a DJ party catering to a grown-up predominantly Trini crowd. I hope I blended in! Probably not....After all, patrons were meant to wear Black and White and I had on RED...go figure.

I wasn't the only not Trini in the house. I had the pleasure of meeting Mario Zamora, a Miami-based business man, originally from the Dominican Republic who sits on the board of Broward Carnival. I have to hand it to him. Mr. Meringue definitely knows how to keep pace when it comes to soca

I started really having a great time when Back to Basics started playing some back in times chunes. It was very hot inside the hotel, but that didn't dampen the spirits one bit!

Back to Basics bringing the musical sugar

Kudos to whoever coordinated the whole bar set-up. There were ample stations to get watered, the line-ups were short and quick, and the drinks were mixed well...from all reports. I just had two...not that you're counting.

Great party. For a little icing on the cake...I got to meet Ghetto Flex. I interviewed him about a year and a half back for WE Magazine. It was over the phone since he was in Trinidad and I in Toronto at the time. It was nice chat, we both discovered that we share Vincy parentage...which for some reason is like a bonding experience or something! Ghetto currently has a video on Canadian TV with a Toronto-based Rap artist.

Ghetto Flex and the Nurse...this picture makes me laugh aloud.

About 4 am, the posse made a move to Miami for the International Flag Party. Um...yeah...late, right. In this case too late. We were parked up on the causeway listening to Machel's set. At the end of the fete Giselle the Wassi One announces that HD was the last act...and party done.

Giselle de Wassi One, and Yours Truly at a party called F.R.I.E.N.D.S (the next night)

To most people reading, there would be no complaints if a fetes wraps at 5 am, right? Well...Miami wasn't having that. IFP was scheduled to end at 10 in the morning. They announced that tickets would be honoured at the next Trini South Boyz Sovavivor event. That seemed like a good plan. But what I didn't know then, is that the gate people collected tickets from all patrons on their way in. hmmm....sticky!

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