page 2 of 4

This was how it exquisitely went down at Republic Bank's first ever All-Inclusive fete at Pier 1 Chaguaramas last Saturday, suitably entitled "C'est La Vie".

The promoters of the event spared nothing and definitely went all out to ensure that partygoers got value for their money, demonstrating how an All Inclusive party truly should be. Then again we would expect nothing less from the seasoned and exclusive crew at ISLANDpeople, who organized the event.

Walking into the venue was like a breeze with no long lines and no sticking by organizers and security personnel, which just set the tone for night. On arrival patrons were greeted by lovely ladies who offered as is the norm now, a bandana of respective fete sponsors (lawd the amount of cloth we have now) and a very handy little pouch which we must say would be very useful on the road for Carnival Monday and Tuesday.

The theme of the night was French, which was definitely reinforced by the number of stunningly sexy ladies at the party proving that anything French is truly steaming hot and sexy. Promoters didn't spare a dime when it came to the food as the event catered for all types of tastes and preferences offering delicious novel selections of Chinese, French, Creole and Indian dishes. With the pork ribs and barbecue wings stall as usual being the most popular of the lot, however there was never any long lines at any of the stalls to the delight of feters and which to me was most encouraging to go for 2nds, 3rds, and 4th rounds and as much as you saw fit. That is the point of an All Inclusive, right? As Peter C. Lewis would say, "Dat iz wha we saying!"

Also in keeping with the French theme, partygoers were enticed with an exotic selection of deserts which included, different types of cheese cake, black forest cake, other French sweets and grapes on vines hanging from the ceiling and walls which you could be hand picked. And Oh! Did we mention that there were free exotic massages available to patrons from Cheer Meer? Hmm...talk about going all out and value for your money!

The evening was very easy going and everything flowed smoothly whole night long like a drink of scotch and coconut water mixed to perfection....... okay let us stop sounding like alcoholics here! ;-) And again folks "Arrive Alive!" But speaking of drinks, it was the easiest thing to get at the bar and you had a very wide choice, including of course all the premium drinks which lasted to the very end of the event, to the delight of the drinkers.

Okay now to the real action Entertainment

Kes The Band with Nadia Batson were the first on stage and they started the transformation from what was a relaxing, easy going evening into a totally explosive, high energetic night. They got the crowd into an upbeat mood, delivering an intense powerful performance definitely proving themselves now as one of the country's top and most versatile bands. They were soon joined on stage by the 'big man' Iwer George who just 'mashed up' the place with his hit selection "Fete after Fete" sending the crowd into a frenzy. Next on was Maximus Dan who kept up the tempo and had feters putting their hands high into the air while they waved and sang along to his now classic and ever patriotic "Fighter (Soca Warrior)" .... I'm a Soooooooooca Warrior.

Then making a come back to the soca arena was three time chutney soca monarch king Rikki Jai who proved that he hasn't lost anything from his absence on the soca stage as he delivered a vigorous performance and sent the crowd into an uproar with his C2K7 hit "Las Band". The much anticipated 'cold sweat' man Crazy himself then came on, having one of his better seasons in years and he did not fail to deliver as he had the entire crowd singing and waving to his two mega hits for C2K7 "Cold Sweat" and that other one nah.... "We doh wanna say." ;-)

One thing we must note though was that the Republic Bank and Island People definitely made it happen with just the right number of people for the event to be successful but not overcrowded where you couldn't walk through the crowd without having to dodge and squeeze through, to the comfort of the partygoers.

The feature event of the night was Machel Montano HD and crew who arrived in their straight out of MTV style Tour Bus which was actually part sponsored by Republic Bank. And I tell you talk about rollin' large... the bus slamming!

Well folks if you did not see Machel before, this would have been the ideal opportunity to see Machel up close and personal at his best since setting afforded you this opportunity. It was truly a great experience to be right there under his Majesty himself at front stage while he had the entire crowd in sheer ecstasy..... whey! Well as usual the crowd was in ah frenzy as Machel was joined on stage by Patrice Roberts, Zan and Farmer Nappy delivering all their hit selections including, "Higher Than High", "One More Time", "Light It Up" and the new front runner in the Road March for Carnival 2K7, the infectious "Jumbie".

The event was definitely a success with few or no visible hiccups, this being the first All-inclusive event held by the Republic Bank Staff Sports Club. So folks be sure not to miss it next year, as it will only get bigger and better.