A Visitors Primer for Jamaica Carnival 2005

A Visitors Primer for Jamaica Carnival 2005


Jamaica Carnival 2005 can be divided into two parts, you can do either or both:

Part 1...De North Coast Kickoff

Carnival in Jamaica kicks off on Easter Weekend, this year thats March 25th,
Good Friday to March 28th, Easter Monday, a Jamaican National Holiday. Thats a
big four day holiday weekend centered in the Ocho Rios area on the North coast.
That weekend the somewhat quiet small town of Ocho Rios comes alive with
visitors from throughout Jamaica and especially the capital city of Kingston.

Friday Night...Mainly Dancehall, big names like Elephant Man, big name Sound
Systems like Black Chiney in town. The town is booming, and the streets are
filled.

Saturday Afternoon-Early Evening...Bacchanal Jamaica Beach J'ouvert at James
Bond Beach. Big name soca stars, last year it was Rupee, Atlantik, Destra and
Imij & Company just to name few, also Point Fortin Engine Room bangin on de
iron. Lots of paint, lots of free drinks, lots of fun in a great location with
first class everything. Cost around $45. Attendance about 5000.

Sunday Evening...Big festival in Chucka Cove a few miles west of Ocho
Rios...This is a Jamaica Carnival or Byron Lee affair. Note, two groups put on
most if not all the carnival events, thats Byron Lee's Jamaica Carnival and
another group called Bacchanal Jamaica. Last year had pretty much the same
lineup as the above Beach J'ouvert with the addition of Byron Lee's band. Cost
is like $30 and attendance is big, like 15,000 or more.

There is also a semiprivate fete that night put on by Bacchanal Jamaica,
Frenchman, at a Villa right on the ocean just a few miles east of Ocho
Rios...All-inclusive, last year maybe 500 to 1000. About $35. DJ music, very
nice fete.

Monday...Holiday for Jamaicans...One year we went to Dunn River Falls Beach just
outside Ocho Rios. Sound Systems at the falls and on the beach, Bar-B-Q-ing,
lots of fun, no hoards of tourists at the falls that day for sure.

Part 2...Kingston Carnival Bashments/Road March

Off to Kingston on Tuesday or Wednesday. Taxi ride about $100.

Wednesday...This year it looks like a Soca Beach Party in the afternoon put on
by Bacchanal Jamaica and a Pan Night put on by Jamaica Carnival. See websites
below.

Friday Night-Saturday Morning...Big Friday night J'ouverts starting at midnight
and going till dawn with a road march through the streets of New Kingston. There
are two events that night in the same general area...I prefer the Raiders
J'ouvert at the Mas Camp venue...Lots of paint at about 4am...attendance about
5000. There is also the much bigger Joker's Wild J'ouvert with a younger
crowd...about 15,000 for this one. More big name soca stars like Machel Montano
and Xtatik at this one. Pretty much the same format for both, cost is about $25
to $35.

Saturday Night...Fete night. Frenchman fete is the mother of all-inclusive
fetes, first class everything and I mean everything. About $60. Attendance about
1500.

Also, a fete poolside at the Pegasus Hotel put on by Byron Lee. Top guest
artists always appear; Both reggae and soca. Cost about $25.

Sunday...Road March by both groups, Jamaica Carnival and Bacchanal Jamaica.
We have always done the Bacchanal Jamaica Road March. I highly recommend the
Frenchman Section which is called Illusions, a premium all-inclusive section,
cost about $115. Costumes shown at Bacchanal website, see link below.

Fetes after the road marches at the mas camp and elsewhere till about midnight.
See event listings in websites below.

Accommodations:

For Ocho Rios accommodations, I suggest a deluxe room at the Hibiscus Lodge,
$125 or about $100 for regular room...Rooms are totally booked for Easter
Weekend in Ocho Rios, so reservations have to be made early, like now.

For Kingston accommodations, I suggest the Pegasus Hotel, the center of carnival
activities. Ask for carnival rate, about $145 includes taxes and breakfast. Also
good is the Hilton and Courtleigh and Knutsford. These hotels are located in a
safe secure area of New Kingston.

Websites for costumes and events schedule a

http://www.bacchanaljamaica.com/

http://www.jamaicacarnival.com/

Carnival in Jamaica is one of the best in the Caribbean, we've played mas in
carnivals in Trinidad, Barbados, and Grenada and we have as much fun in Jamaica
as anywhere.

Any other questions, contact me at

John