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De Stage Open

De Stage Open

Carnival Mania at the Barclays Center

Just one week after hosting the MTV Video Music Awards, the Barclays Center welcomed Grenada's Tallpree, St. Vincent's Skinny Fabulous, Barbados' Edwin Yearwood and Alison Hinds, and of course, Trinidad and Tobago's soca power couple Bunji Garlin and Fay-Ann Lyons!  For the first time ever on this site, DyChick not only got to enjoy the stage show but I had an opportunity to talk to the artists behind the scenes! 

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I Find Mehself in A Jouvay Band

I Find Mehself in A Jouvay Band

Boston Carnival

The last time I attempted to experience the Carnival, Hurricane Irene blew through the east coast and forced me to return to New York prior to the parade.  I took that as a sign.  Two years later, I made a second attempt.  Luckily, the air was cool and sunny skies blanketed the massive festival that began at 5am with j’ouvert and ended some twelve hours later.  Fine.  I am converted.  Boston Carnival, ah comin’ again!

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Ah Tell You I Have It
andtechgroup andtechgroup

Ah Tell You I Have It

Toronto Caribbean Carnival

Every August Toronto comes alive with the sights and sounds of Carnival.  This year was no different.  From the moment I landed at the Billy Bishop Airport downtown, I could hear steelpan playing in the distance.  This was what I had been waiting for.  I paid the entrance fee ready to get up close and personal with the masqueraders.  Unfortunately, the entrance fee got me as far as the 8-foot-high fence.  Although I enjoyed my visit, I have to admit that it did not compare to the carnival experience I had last year.

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Wettin' after Wettin'
andtechgroup andtechgroup

Wettin' after Wettin'

Memorial Day Weekend

I suppose the Brooklyn Carnival gods heard my cry last year about there being so few parties that I ended up barely feting that summer.  This year, the summer party season kicked off with many fetes and events. While many Americans celebrated Memorial Weekend with parades and barbecues, I spent the weekend jumping up in clubs and fetes. 

If Memorial weekend was any indication of what is to come this summer in New York, DysChick will be fetin' after fetin' all the way to Labor Day.  Leh we go!

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Anti-stush vs. Vikings
andtechgroup andtechgroup

Anti-stush vs. Vikings

Got PCD at Latin Quarters

A quiet Palm Sunday evening in Manhattan was interrupted by an epic soca event starring the Viking and the Viqueen, Bunji Garlin and Fay-Ann Lyons.  The posh Latin Quarters on 47th Street and Lexington Avenue in Manhattan is not known for hosting powder-flinging soca fetes, but with the city's West Indian community suffering from PCD (Post Carnival Depression), that's what they got.

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Fogging Up the Place
andtechgroup andtechgroup

Fogging Up the Place

A DRAMATIC CARNIVAL SEASON

The music of Carnival is usually the basis for the drama that accompanies Trinidad and Tobago Carnival.  However, this year, the drama is happening behind the music.  With Machel Montano being found guilty of various assault charges right before the season began and soca power couple Bunji Garlin and Fay-Ann Lyons choosing to bow out of the Soca Monarch competition, the battle is not just on the stage.

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De Vibes Cyah Done
andtechgroup andtechgroup

De Vibes Cyah Done

MIAMI CARNIVAL 2012

When thousands of West Indians descend on Miami, what do you expect to happen?  You should expect fetes, parties, and half-naked flag-bearing people all up and down South Beach.  Well, that is exactly what took place this past weekend.  The good thing was that the locals were expecting it this time.  It seemed that there was more awareness about the Carnival this year than any other year I’ve gone.  It was great that the airport staff, the hotels, and the cab drivers knew that Columbus Day weekend was Miami Carnival weekend.

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