10 Things We Loved About the SKN Carnival 50 Opening
By Icon-solable
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts; Whew Chile! The 50th Opening of the St. Kitts and Nevis National Carnival was quite a spectacle to behold! It certainly had everyone in the mood for Carnival with the pump, flair and splendor that was displayed on Nov. 3 at Carnival Village. Even the naysayers and anti-vaxxers who are peddling the narrative that there should be no carnival, cannot deny that Sugar Mas 50 is shaping up to be quite a grand affair. Apart from minor glitches and the hosts that could have been more entertaining, the opening of Sugar Mas really set the bar high of what’s to come as party-starved revelers relished in the opening.
So here are 10 Things We Loved About the Opening:
- DJ Tero- Back from his amazing US Tour, Tero set the mood with his selection of homegrown music of yesteryear. This selection included past Nu Vybes and Small Axe hits and also included everyone’s favorite shade song “In You Mockazema” and “I love St. Kitts” by the beloved former Calypso King, Ellie Matt.
- The Dancers- Whew! The dancers had so much energy! They take me back to my unrealistic dreams of becoming a back-up dancer. Whew! The dancers made me wish I could! Our tiny island is truly blessed with incomparable talent and creativity, they never missed a beat and were so in sync.
- The display of folklore- The opening had a little bit of something for everyone! What is a SKN Carnival without our Masqueraders, Clowns, Actors, and the infamous Bull? It is always great to see our folklore taking center stage. However, would have loved to see some of our Carnival VIP’s incorporated into the performances, for instance, how great and exciting it would have been to see our Hon. Jonel Powell and the Carnival Chairperson, dancing the masquerade or any other folklore dance. Who do you think would have done it the best?
- The flashback of past Calypsonians- How good it was to see a flashback of past calypso stalwarts performing their songs while current artists were performing. Would have loved to see a more variety of past hits that truly captured the essence of our Sugar Mas; if I can name a few: ‘Come Forward’ by Mark The First, ‘Stranded Night’ by Pungwa, or even Small Axe Band’s ‘Who is De Dan’ plus many, many more!
- The children in the audience- While some of the performers were onstage the vibes was truly in the audience and every now and then the camera (who by the way did a superb job) would glide over the crowd. There in the corner on the grounds were some young people who were just enjoying themselves, enjoying the music in a good clean and fun way. Young Revelers 1-Taskforce 0.
- The Camera men- What a professional capture of our Sugar Mas, live online for all to see. Now apart from the technical difficulties, what we the online viewers witnessed was truly spectacular! Having a grand event is all good but being able to expertly capture everything is truly genius. The camera men made us feel as if we were right there in the moment.
- The Carnival Queens outfits- It appears there were some difficulties when it came to introducing the National Carnival Queen contestants, nonetheless they dazzled in their matching one-shoulder lilac shimmering dresses.
- The awardees- Conse Edwards a.k.a. Lord Black a.k.a. The Carnival Gone English and Nigel ‘Numpy’ Williams prolific musician and band leader were awarded for their sterling contributions to our Carnival as grand marshals.
- Nicha B, Delly Ranks and KT Dan – Their performances felt like it was the finals for the Soca Monarch competition. The energy of these three artists were quite electrifying and just the type of performances Carnival needs for an Opening.
- The overall Production- Let me first give credit to the talented musicians of the Bacchanalist Crew who contributed to the overall production of the event by providing music for the performances. Kudos also to the production committee for once again producing a spectacular event. Despite our current situation with the Covid-19 stipulations, we are thankful that we were able to witness such an amazing production since many are unable to attend in person.
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