The Bathsheba Experience 2010 Review

"Happy Food, Delicious People & Tasty Music"

It’s Crop Over Fri-DAY, so that can only mean one thing ... “Bathsheba Experience”! HAPPY FOOD, DELICIOUS PEOPLE & TASTY MUSIC..... was this year’s tag line. So did this Ultimate Barbados Crop Over All Inclusive event deliver? Let’s dig in...

CROWD:
Last year, the event was carded from 2-8PM. And this year, it was changed to 5-11PM to cater for all the Thursday Crop Over arrivals from out of town, giving them sufficient time to drop off their luggage, change into their sexy all inclusive outfits, and get more than enough party time in. Good strategy, but surprisingly, the majority of the crowd arrived around 9PM. My Caribbean people... helloooooo, it’s an all inclusive! FREE food and drinks! The early bird catches the ... well, in this case, more food, drinks and wukking up!

Hosted by veteran media personality and promoter, Davhed Levy, you can always count of seeing a celebrity or two (read on in Vibes section), as well as, the who’s who of the Caribbean - SLAM 101.1FM hostess Alex Jordan, Barbadian entertainment manager/lawyer Santia Bradshaw, Guyanese artiste Timeka Marshall and TV personality (TEMPO, BET J) Jeanille Bonterre.

VENUE/ACCESSIBILITY:
With Joe's River Bridge being unaccessible, the promoters got directions for alternative routes out to its patrons. Thank you!

Once again, the "Once in a Blue Moon Villa" provided a beautiful platform for the event, which was only trumped by the breathtaking vista, with the coconut trees and the Atlantic ocean providing an excellent back drop for partygoers.

We did notice that the main food station was set up more exquisitely last year, which added to the overall ambiance of the venue.

VIBE:
With partygoers arriving more than fashionably late, so did the vibes. But once the vibes on the main dance floor got started, it never stopped. An all star cast of DJs from Barbados, Trinidad, London and New York supplied all the Soca (and much more selections) one could ask for, and an impromptu performance by Jamaica’s Dancehall artist, Shabba Ranks, who flew in specifically for this event had folks in a frenzy as he sang some of his classic anthems such as “Ting A Ling”, “Dem Bow” and “Trailer Load A Girls”.

FOOD/DRINK:
This year we sampled Curried Chicken, Basmati rice and Pasta salad. Several variations of pork were also served, and for those who simply wanted something lighter to digest, fresh salad & fish skewers and tortilla chips were available. While in VIP, we were even treated to some Sushi! All in all, we ate our bellies full, but would have liked to see a wider variety of delicacies.

SERVICE:
First rate bar service (especially in VIP) together with top of the line drink options (Cocktails, Wine, Whisky, Vodka, Gin) accentuated the premium nature of the event.

COST/VALUE:
$150 Bajan ($75US) Ltd advance. $85US if you move late. The general feedback from patrons is this all inclusive is slightly over priced and should be around the $55-$65 range.

Only in it's second year, The Bathsheba Experience looks to be a mainstay on the annual Crop Over event Calender.

-Dre aka The Carnival Ref

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