HOUSTON CARIBFEST 2014 COVERAGE
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HCF Parade of the Bands 2014 Jul 6th, 2014

Premium Ultimate Bfast Party Jul 6th, 2014

Climaxx 2014 Jul 5th, 2014

Bright Colors Boat Ride Jul 5th, 2014

HCF J'ouvert 2014 Jul 4th, 2014

Ancil's Breakfast Party 2014 Jul 4th, 2014

Ultra Glo 2014 Jul 3rd, 2014

Without a doubt, the joys of a few combinations of things make what I do as event photographer extremely worthwhile! In retrospect, service from promoters rank extremely high in my books and is without question, a big part of our scoring when we review events. Another joy is that of having the autonomy to do my work without distraction… you know what I mean? For example, being on a stage and not having the stage crew tell you to move or to get off or to stop shooting pics. To compliment those two, is the quality and friendliness of all the folks involved in the running of an event, coupled with the quality of the event. So we have service, autonomy to work, good people to work with and well promoted and attended events. In Houston TX, Trini Jungle Juice has continuously experienced no shortage of joy year after year after year when dealing with Mr. P and Houston Caribbean Festival (HCF), along with the several other promoters that continue to show us love!

The 2014 edition of the Houston Caribbean Festival was no different from past years when it comes to their Carnival and special events surrounding the July 4th weekend. As we landed, it was off to the hotel, had a quick bite from 'Cool Runnings' (we will get back to that later), and them got ready for Ultra GLO to kick off the weekend!

As we arrived at the Phoenix Event Center (PEC), to meet long lines! That's obviously a good thing. Already packed, Bashment Yute, Fire Kyle and MC Avalance, were turning up the place. The PEC has been the home of this event for the last few years. However, it is safe to say that they need a bigger location. The 4000+ well-dressed mixed crowd, is beginning to out grow the venue. Understandably so! The DJ line up was equally impressive as well. With MC Wassy heading the charge in true 'Grand Marshall' style, Freeze International, DJ Spice and The Chosen One, all hailing from New York, did not disappoint us. DJ Stephen, a fixture at this carnival, was and as always, well received. However, there was one DJ that stole the show… Alicia D Duchess from Trinidad was in Houston for the first time and had people eating out of the palm of her hands! A class act, and one hard to follow, D Duchess was in every which way a hit! Shout out to Grenada's Tallpree who was in the building. Overall, this was a great event. Good music throughout the night, tremendous vibes and great service. Must shout out Brinsley and Asia for all their efforts behind the scenes! Thanks guys!

Upon departing the venue at 4:30am, all footsteps led to the vendors. And we must mention that there were several. Though some of the DJs went to other stalls, Cool Runnings was my only stop! For me, the best Caribbean food in Houston! And ohhh they have a best fruit punch! Can someone say EPIC??!!

Early Friday morning we passed through by Ancil's After Glo Breakfast Party and had a blast. Beautiful venue and great food period. Ancil, thank you and your family for the hospitality. It is most appreciated. Later on on Friday, we were headed in two directions so we roped in Coop from our TJJ LA Team to get to work. And so she did. While I headed to the HCF famous Jouvert, Coop made her way to Rock This Nation's Tour featuring Machel Montano and The HD Band. Machel was a great show (according to Coop), held at the prestigious Bayou on The Bay, with obvious fantastic performances Machel is known for, delivering time and time again. Mr. Vegas did a quick cameo at this event, but we will get to him later.

At Jouvert, no other event could have competed this weekend with the music and the numbers… over 30,000+ showed up to HCF's annual Jouvert. Flags and rags of all nations were visible from every direction and the Jab Jab posse were present and accounted for! Duchess, Freeze Intl., Chosen, Spice, MC Wassy, Avalance, Renee, and a few others were all present and accounted for. And we definitely cannot forget about our drivers Sharon, Trudy and Giselle! Kudos to you guys for keeping us safe!!

On Saturday, the team was split again. While I attended the Bright Colors Boat Ride where Lyrikal and Talpree performed alongside the renowned Burning "Kick In She Back Door" Flames, Coop headed to Climaxx, the upscale day fete that featured Back to Basics and Tony Cross from NYC and Houston's very own T-Rock. Climaxx has held this annual event time and time again and has found a good niche. Known for finding lavish locations for their followers, this year was no different as they used the "House of Dereon." A "bess" party as it's known, certainly proved their worth!

As for the Boat Ride… OMGooosh!!!!! Talk about vibe??!! Beautiful people donned the boat across board, well dressed and ready to party. Firstly, this boat had three floors packed to capacity. To be exact, 618 people rocked the hell out of that boat! With a well stocked bar and free Cool Runnings food, there was no reason to leave. Literally! Though a bit long, no one really complained about partying for 6 hours. In fact, when you have two of the top artists to date and one of the biggest bands in the Caribbean on a boat, and not to mention MC Wassy, the top Caribbean DJs aboard, and TriniJungleJuice.com, what else do you need? Fireworks??? Well guess what, we had that to!! The Captain stopped to see the Fireworks in honor of the July 4th weekend.

Sunday is the day everyone looks forward to as it wraps up the carnival with the parade and a huge stage show. Prior to the Parade, MC Wassy and I stopped at Chris Knight's Premium Premium Breakfast Party at the Belvidere Lounge. Talk about session? As a matter of fact, talk about bess food? Lets put it this way, on our way out we had fish broth!!!! Can you imagine that? In ah breakfast party? Either way, Tony 4 Real, Back to Basics and Tony Cross all represented here.

This is my third time in 4 years here and I can safely say that the Parade numbers are growing exponentially. Madd Colors were there along with Stamina and a variety of others, I believe that HCF is doing a fantastic job in showcasing the Caribbean in it's true form! To add to that distinguished testimony to that, Patrick Lewis, CEO of the Houston Caribbean Festival, received a Certificate of Congressional Recognition from Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee of the 18th District, TX. Truly an honor for his consistent work and efforts in promoting events that unite people from all walks of life. Well-deserved Patrick! Kudos to you and the hardworking staff of the Houston Caribbean Festival.

To close out the day's activities, after the masqueraders crossed the stage, MC Wassy, the official HCF MC, got the show on the road. With acts from all across the Caribbean, HCF concert is one of the best I've seen to end a carnival. Several artists from all walks of the Caribbean graced the stage ... Rudy, Pumpa, T-Rock, Lyrikal, Talpree and the Jab Jab posse, the Green Brothers Riddim Section from NY, 5 Star Akil and Burning Flames, just to name a few, performed in front of thousands. The highlight of the show however, was the performance by Mr. Vegas. It was absolutely fantastic. A fitting way to end 5 days of carnival celebrations!

To close, I believe that Houston Caribbean Festival is quickly becoming one of the most talked about and well-attended Carnivals in the US. From artists to DJs to the over all management of the event, HCF is in the top tier of Carnivals. They are setting the precedence for service. That much is a fact. With that being said, I would like to thank ALL the promoters for having Trini Jungle Juice at their events. For the artists, we appreciate your dedication to your work. To the DJs, keep sharing our culture through music. A special thank you goes out to Patrick and the Houston Caribbean Festival team for making the trip possible. We at TJJ, also appreciate what you do for us and for our followers.

So another year in Houston, TX… another great one as well.

Joy Juice ... Out and About!

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