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ATLANTA
CARNIVAL 2012 COVERAGE
Joy Juice of the TJJ family back in the A.T.L Atlanta ... one of the most notable cities in the world ... the host of the 1996 Olympic Games, home of the legendary Martin Luthur King Jr., home of the Braves and the Falcons sport fanchanises, home to the largest saltwater aquarium in the US, and home of the Atlanta Caribbean Carnival Bandleaders Association (ACCBA). Over the past five years, Trini Jungle Juice has seen a tremendous growth in the attendance at their carnival celebrations which takes place every year on Memorial Day Weekend ... another reason for you to visit Atlanta .. as if we didn't mention enough! ACCBA kicked off their carnival celebrations this year on April 28th 2012, as they hosted the annual Caribbean Jr. Miss, Miss and Queen Pageant. What a show! If you have not been, please show your love to these young ladies when you can. They have worked hard to show off their countries and they did a fantastic job in doing so. Congrats to the winners. As the Memorial Day events draw closer, the Demolition Crew makes no bones about their event… the 8th Annual Cooler Fete. This event is a "must attend" event. Hosted the Saturday prior to the carnival, I can guarantee you that not one of the 1500 strong patrons, whether with their crew or individually, whether with their cooler or their knapsack of drinks, complained about the 6pm start. The guys with the deep freezer were certainly well stocked for any type of drinking scenario… they rolled deep… literally!!! As the Parade of the Bands approached, a series of events in 2012, with high profile Caribbean artists and DJ's, rocked Atlanta upper and underground! On Thursday May 24th, we checked in to the Sheraton Hotel ... nice (which by the way has the best staff ever-talk about friendly and professional service…. wow), and made our way to the King and Queen show shortly after, held in their conference room. And even with a late start, the show was well attended as it showed off the costumes for the parade of the bands on Saturday. Well done ACCBA! On Carnival Thursday, we covered two events: Represent and Flag Party. Represent was not too bad at all…. quality crowd in an upscale club, with DJ Stephen spinning…. who could ask for more? "Not I" said the man with the camera. As for Flag Party, Krushmore Ent. promoter, True and a few of his affiliates (Otis and Shoville), once again had a sold out crowd and got the ball rolling at Club Esso. Oh what a night! Flags were flying from every which way…. the DJ's were great (big up Kevy Kev), the service was great and the women…. well… all I have to say is 'oh boy'! As for the party itself, the possibility existed that every Caribbean nation was represented. We didn't check but we are almost sure. As the event came to a close around 4AM… believe me when I say, my stomach was cursing me. Time for food! From there, we headed to 'Mangos' (located at 180 Auburn Ave. Atlanta, GA), the newest Caribbean Restaurant to hit the Atlanta scene. Talk about good food…. we love the place! The jerk chicken and the ox tails… oh my gosh!!! Nuff said. Be sure to check them out. Tell them Joy Juice from Trini Jungle Juice send yuh! We then returned to the hotel while the sun was still coming up. Friday May 25th was a big night. We had three events to cover... Atlanta Jouvert at the Atrium, I AM SOCA - The Tour at Museum Bar and Ladies 1st featuring Machel at Obsessions. And some folks say we crazy to cover three events in one night… but we did it!! All three events had sold out crowds giving rise to possibly a new trend in Atlanta with the Carnival Friday being a very big night! My two wing men still decided that the night was not over after we left Machel, so we headed to C&J Hideaway. Yuh know we roll up on Red Bone and she crew … talk bout niceness ….. I tell you … Trinis know how to party boy! Wwwwaaaayyyyyy … if yuh see people in de dance! Even soca artiste/producer Kerwin Du Bois like himself in de session. And it was another day-clean before we even thought about heading back to the hotel. As we got ready for the Parade of the Bands on Saturday morning, we made sure a few things were in order. Push-ups were in order, sleeveless in order, batteries in order, cameras/flashes in order, suncreen in order, wining waist in order, shades in order, ¾ pants in order, TJJ cards and media pass in order and energy to burn in order ... We Hit De Road Hard!!!! And if you feel like de Soca done … it was more Soca to come …. Whole day we on de road. Madd Flava hold on to we in ah session …. oh laaawwwwdddd! We like we self with them! Thanks for the love you show TJJ throughout. And big up to Prizm Mas, We Kinda Ting (Mas Band of the Year), Thunderbirds USA and all the other bands we passed through. The parade was very good. The Demolition crew was there and in full effect, Esther and her small crew, the DJ's…. DJ Jaspa and the One Drop family (which I think is one of the best DJ's to come out of Atlanta…. allyuh need to link them), DJ Stephen as usual, DJ Thunder, Tony Tempo and more, all had the road on fire! As we ended the parade at the Festival Village, the stage was set for one of the biggest line-ups you would get. Of course and always in the mix was Giselle D' Wassi One and MC Wassy. The singing MC kept the crowd really hyped before introducing one by one, some of soca music biggest artistes. Before the stage was heated up, we visited the vendors section. The vendors in my opinion were a hit as the food from the Caribbean was never ending (as usual). As we returned stagesidem Kenny Blessing and King Dancy did a fantastic job repping Antigua and Barbuda. The Revolution Band did their thing and the local DJ's were all in. Then came the big name acts for the evening ... and in no particular order ... Iwer George, Kerwin Du Bois, Skinny Fabulous, Talpree, Jadine, Tantro Metro and Devonte, Burning Flames, Pumpa, and Edwin Yearwood just to name a few, all performed for the thousands of soca lovers on hand ... waving their national flags. The evening came to close around 10PM for the patrons, but it just started for Team TJJ. After a quick nap, shower and a light snack …. it was off to the Soca Xplosion - a must attend fete on Carnival Saturday night. Why? The answer is simple…. Krushmore Entertainment promoting … Alison Hinds wining down, Iwer Geogre throwing water on people, Kerwin Du Bois rocking his converse, Rikky T climbing on speakers, Pumpa causing trouble, and Lyrikal hosting ah competition on stage between two winer girls …….. Need I say more??!! We had a blast! And while we decided to take a bit of a snooze, DJ Jaspa called and said, "TJJ, doh forget we at Sunday Morning Breakfast Fete eh!" And with that, we were gone again! From 5:30AM. And thank goodness we did not miss that party ... De BESS PARTY EVER!!!! Talk about styles play…. DJ Jaspa and One Drop are truly one of the best set of DJs around. They had the session on lock. Along with them was DJ Shane (Black Talon), DJ Stephen (again), Jr, MaddFlava and a few others that made this party a must return to in 2013!! And talking about MaddFlava…. allyuh believe the MaddFlava crew in dat as well?? And they roll in deep… right Stacks? After leaving the Breakfast fete around 2PM (which by the way we felt we should have gotten lunch), we already had a macaronie pie in waiting… well at least I did!!! Best pie ever….. and I'm sorry, I cannot give out that kitchen's address ... I keeping that one for meh self! Doh ask! About 10ish, we headed back to the hotel to press. Press what you ask? Well our shirts dear Henry ! Yes, it was time to get ready for the Annual Wear White Party ... probably the most looked forward to event of the Carnival weekend. Jillan… we love you! This was the best way to close off Atlanta Carnival. No artists, plenty food, plenty drinks and plenty beautiful people in attendance. It actually was a wow moment! And again, Tony Tempo the veteran kicked things off with DJ Denny, DJ Stephen, DJ Jaspa and a host of other DJs ... all chipping in to make sure this party ran smoothly. Talk about niceness ... we like we self there. As the Carnival came to a close on Monday morning, we took a bit of a breath for the first time. We are sure that everyone echoed the same feelings ... Atlanta was a rel bess carnival! Much love goes out to Vanmyke and Naya, True, Otis, Sho, Jovain, Jaspa, DJ Stephen, Krista, Kevin, Stacks, Rae, Karen, Jinnelle, Wire Waist Crew from Houston, Moida and Aisha and the Houston Posse, Caesar, Junia and Prizm Mas, DJ Denny, Corey, Iwer, DJ Thunder, Terry and the Eyes Wide Shut family, the Demolition Crew, Adrian and his boys, Leanne, Collin and Troy and to the ACCBA family ... Karen, Tasha and Pat and your entire staff. Thank you so much for showing TJJ the love! We are happy that we were able to assist in making Atlanta Carnival one of our Calendar events. The attendance for the weekend was great and we are sure more people will attend next year! Much love from the Trini Jungle Juice family!
As Always, << View Carnival Photo Gallery >> >> Atlanta 2011 Carnival Coverage |
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