An exciting end to Bacchanal Jamaica's Carnival

"The carnival is coming" was the cry from countless youngsters who lined the streets of St Andrew yesterday for the road march of Bacchanal Jamaica.

Armed with their seats, cotton candy, refreshments, cameras and other necessities, spectators awaited the colourful display of costumes that would soon ensue.

The road march being the final event for the carnival season, revellers relished the final moments on the long trek from Mona Road through New Kingston, Half-Way Tree and ending at Mas Camp.

Themed 'Bacchanal Gone Hollywood', all the costumes reflected movie themes with bands such as La Dolce Vita, Pocahontas, Showgirls, Troy, Moulin Rouge, Casablanca, Stardust, and Vegas Guys and Dolls.

After 10 a.m., the parade of trucks, drinks trucks, marching band and revellers were heading down the road, gaining speed throughout the day and by the evening, gaining a large entourage of non-revellers.

The revellers were armed with sun glasses, sun block, cameras, a trusty drink always in hand, tons of glitter and for some, instead of sneakers, the new trend was matching cowboy boots. Some of the trucks had an extra treat, like the Fame FM truck that had dancehall artistes Natalee Storm and Tifa enjoying the march on board. The Acropolis truck had Yendi Phillipps who was dressed almost like Cleopatra, and the Country Style truck who had Trinidad's Imij and Company creating havoc on the road.

The marching band leading the parade carried a vibe right throughout, with coordinated dancehall-like moves. The revellers were obviously enjoying themselves with bumpers raised in the air, persons wining at random on onlookers and for some, the streets were their playground. With a brief break for food, more onlookers came out at spots such as Devon House and Truck Stop. There were numbers of persons sitting on the walls, standing along the side and standing on top of cars to get a glimpse of the carnival action.

Rain clouds

Going through Half-Way Tree, the energy lessened a little, as the long trek began to take its toll, most revellers, however, were grateful for the rain clouds that blocked out the sun. Coming out of Half-Way Tree and back on to Trafalgar, the 'last lap' of the march was energetic once more, with more non-revellers following the bacchanal revellers. The non-revellers were a sight to see in extremely colourful and creative gear, some utilising mesh stocking, short shorts, glitter and torn T-shirts to participate in the event.

Compared with last year, however, this year's Bacchanal Jamaica was less extravagant than in previous years - they didn't have persons on stilts walking along and only two females had the floats attached to their costumes. By the evening, some revellers sighed with relief to see Mas Camp and the end of their journey, while others wanted the parade to keep on going.

Source: Jamaica Star