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Happy

Susan Mangatal

Greetings On-Line Family  

A little over a month ago the Carnival Season in North America began with the Tampa Carnival which took place on April 28th at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa.  However, this weekend the season really begins to officially kick off because the Annual Atlanta Georgia Caribbean Carnival takes place over this entire Memorial Weekend as well as the Orlando, Florida Caribbean Carnival.  

Throughout the years we have always talked about Carnivals, with the expectation that everyone knows what Carnival is all about, but to many in the US "Carnival" represents an amusement park with rides and games, which many of you know is not the case in the Caribbean.  Actually, the Caribbean Carnival is similar to the Mardi Gras that takes place in New Orleans, LA.  However, "Carnival" within the Caribbean is described as a festival - "a festival full of colors" transformed into costumes or "Mas" (short for masquerade); full of music - calypso, soca, steel band music, iron sections; full of dance; an array of ethnic foods as well as Caribbean art.  Some people describe Carnival as a form of freedom of just letting oneself go on the day/s of the event, and enjoying the music, the parties...just having  FUN!!! FUN!!! FUN!!!  

Yes, Carnival is indeed a lot of fun that attracts millions of people from around the globe, and it has become a huge year-round business entity in America.  It allows each culture to pay tribute to, and expose their art form in the cities where the Carnival is held, it provides enjoyment to millions of people and revenues to businesses year round, and for the cities it is held in, it increases tourism and generates revenue for the city government.  However, unfortunately what I have come to realize it is a breeding ground for greed, dishonesty and haters specifically with the Organizing committee.  Being that I was one of the organizers of  this event for a number of years, what I found in addition to what I stated above is the lack of simple modern management techniques (no proper management skills whatsoever), a need to protect "turf" for ones own selfish interest (the ownership syndrome and the "crab mentality")  , and definitely no form of  teamwork, or the ability to pull together and work together as a team.  One cannot do it alone, and many must realize they may not be skilled in several areas, therefore one must be able to look far beyond their egos and reach out to those who are skilled and are experts in certain areas/talents and bring them along to help with making the event run smoothly and successfully.  

What saddens me about our Carnivals, I know they will certainly die (1) without the proper management, (2) without the lack of expert and skilled talent, (3) without folks who cannot see the "big picture" and who is uncomfortable and is afraid to delegate, and oversee, and (4) without folks who cannot eliminate the hoarding of everything, or cannot eliminate big egos and the "ownership" mentality.   Carnival is a big business and it must be treated as such.

Earlier this week I experienced the joy of preparing for the most exciting and important aspect of Carnival - The Parade.  (Which is the actual parade of each Masquerade Band along a route/street that is authorized by the city in which the carnival is being held).  These Masquerade Bands can be described as the entertainment, because as they parade along the route, they dance and showcase all aspects of their costumes.  To pull this parade off successfully one would need to obtain the full corporation of each Masquerade Band that intends to participate in the Carnival, as well as one's willingness to work together as a team, support, promote, and most importantly support financially some aspects of the Masquerade band, because they are very essential (in my opinion).  They are THE key factor of Carnival...without the masquerade bands filled with masqueraders adorn in costumes, music and dance how will the culture be exposed and really...THERE WILL BE NO CARNIVAL!  Unlike in the Caribbean where Carnival is part of the culture, here in America it's more a showcase of the culture, so this is why I say the Masqueraders are the entertainers. Remember, though Carnival is not a show, it's an interactive show in which everyone is encouraged to participate.

The joy I experienced  this week came from visiting the Mas camp of Jackie and Associates.   Keep in mind Todd and I have participated in Carnivals in years past and have created, designed and produced the costumes/mas for our presentations, but for us this week, it was real nice checking out Jackie & Associates Mas Camp as it was in full swing, alive with the bending of wires for his large costumes and the designing and producing/making some of the piece that will be placed in the  4 sections of his masquerade band called "From First To The Last Quarter".  Over some drinks and interesting conversations we watched him pull some stunning pieces together, he actually took some time to work with another group leader "bandleader" on his costumes.  Mr. Jackie is one of a few "bandleaders who make their costumes locally as oppose to purchasing them from Trinidad as most bandleaders do "now-a-days", and who I feel should be applauded for designing, creating and producing their costumes locally and for their good work.  Seeing this really brought back some fond memories of my work with the Smithsonian Institute some years ago as I was tasked with Organizing  an exhibit on Carnival for the Smithsonian Folk Life Festival.  At this festival we exhibited costumes, had workshops on the art of making costumes and organized an actual mini Carnival parade on the National Mall in Washington DC

Well, as you might imagine this entire Carnival "thing" is very nice and is lots of fun, so if you are in Atlanta and Orlando or have the opportunity to travel to these cities this weekend, you must check out their Carnivals and focus on the Mas bands along the parade route.  You are sure to have lots of fun, and please "take a jump and a wine for me", 

Really, there is no carnival locally for us this year, so we will hook up with many of you in Philadelphia, Baltimore and Miami for their Carnivals.

As I close out I want to wish Annette Lemmon, President of  Atlanta Carnival Bandleaders Association all the best with her Carnival this weekend.  Also, to our friends from Orlando whose band is BIC Sound, we hope you enjoy participating in Atlanta Carnival and Orlando Carnival.

Please remember to welcome BJ's International Market to our community and join them on Sunday, May 27, 2007 for their Grand Opening celebration.  BJ's  is located in Baltimore Maryland on Route 40 just at the city/county line near Catonsville.   This looks like it should be a very nice grocery store offering many products that many of you from the Caribbean remember from home.  ariousentertainment@earthlink.net 

As you aware we have created a safe portal to on-line shopping for all your entertainment, travel, and personal needs, so please continue utilizing/using and supporting all that we offer through our partners.   As always we thank you reading, for your continued support and for browsing through our on-line shopping pages for  ladies, gentlemen, travel and gifts.  

Weekend Car  Rental Special  

The World's On-Line TV Network - Live Internet TV "Unlock 190 Channels from 65+ Countries".  Check out what's available in the Caribbean by clicking the picture below.  Look for "All Countries" and scroll down the list.  4 channels / packages are available in Trinidad & Tobago has 3 packages available. The "Trinbago Package" might be the best!