Need to know | Events calendar (Jan/Feb 2020) By Caribbean Beat and Shelly-Ann Inniss | Issue 161 (January/February 2020) Essential info to help you make the most of January and February across the Caribbean — Carnival Kings and Queens in T&T, Barbados’s Hometown Festival, Jamaica Jamaica! exhibition, and more
Carnival backstage | Closeup By Georgia Popplewell and Laura Dowrich-Phillips | Issue 161 (January/February 2020) Carnival is a time to shine: from performers on the soca and calypso stage to costumed masqueraders in the street and fete-goers showing off their most acrobatic dance moves. But “the greatest show on earth” wouldn’t be possible without the dedication of the many thousands who work behind the scenes — year-round or seasonally — on the organisation and logistics of the festival. Laura Dowrich-Phillips and Georgia Popplewell meet four of the people whose backstage efforts make Carnival happen
Kambule: on morning ground | Snapshot By Attillah Springer | Issue 161 (January/February 2020) Early each Carnival Friday morning, before dawn breaks, crowds assemble at Piccadilly Greens in east Port of Spain for a re-enactment of a key event in the history of Trinidad — and of Carnival itself. Attillah Springer gives an intimate account of Kambule, when the spirits of the ancestors are invoked in a ritual of memory, story, song, and resistance
Look mas | Portfolio By Caribbean Beat | Issue 161 (January/February 2020) Photographer Jason C. Audain’s portraits of traditional Carnival masqueraders record both their intricate costumes and the human energy that powers their performance
The return of the baby doll | Backstory By Amanda T. McIntyre and Jarula M.I. Wegner | Issue 161 (January/February 2020) With a frilly dress and bonnet, carrying a replica of an infant, the traditional Baby Doll is a playful Carnival character with a serious message about the social roles of women and men. A new generation of activists have adopted the Baby Doll as form of feminist intervention, write Amanda T. McIntyre and Jarula M.I. Wegner — like the masqueraders behind the Belmont Baby Dolls band
Gilbert “Dibo” Doran: “I want my legacy to live on” | Own words By Nelly Rosa | Issue 161 (January/February 2020) Gilbert “Dibo” Doran, Curaçao’s 2019 King of Tumba, on his decade-long journey to winning the title, the role of culture in national identity, and Carnival as a time of solidarity — as told to Nelly Rosa
K2K — Where fashion meets mas (with a purpose) By Caribbean Beat | Issue 161 (January/February 2020) Brand: K2K Alliance & Partners 2020 Collection: The Greatest Show Section: The Power of Believing (Believe that you can, and you will) Photography: Gary Jordan Photography MUA: Dion Samuel Model: Soowan Bramble Website: k2k-carnival.com
T&T Carnival | Did you even know By Caribbean Beat | Issue 161 (January/February 2020) Our new trivia column opens with a T&T Carnival quiz. Think you’re an expert on Carnival and calypso history? See how many of our twelve questions you can answer correctly
Need to know | Events calendar (Nov/Dec 2019) By Caribbean Beat and Shelly-Ann Inniss | Issue 160 (November/December 2019) Essential info to help you make the most of November and December across the Caribbean — parang in Trinidad, Garifuna Settlement Day in Belize, Sugar Mas in St Kitts, and more
Need to know | Events calendar (September/October 2019) By Caribbean Beat and Shelly-Ann Inniss | Issue 159 (September/October 2019) Essential info to help you make the most of September and October across the Caribbean — from a new literature festival in Brooklyn to Divali in T&T, Guyana, and Suriname
Need to know | Events calendar (July/August 2019) By Andre Bagoo and Shelly-Ann Inniss | Issue 158 (July/August 2019) Essential info to help you make the most of July and August across the Caribbean — from Reggae Sumfest in Jamaica to Carifesta in T&T
Santiago — carnival city | Explore By Donna Yawching | Issue 158 (July/August 2019) Santiago, Cuba’s second-largest city, has long been a hotbed of culture — and it comes to a blaze each July, as Santiago’s unique annual Carnival, centred on the feast of St James the Apostle, takes over. Donna Yawching explains the historical roots of Santiago Carnival, and why it’s a time of year when no one expects to get much sleep
Need to know | Events calendar (May/June 2019) By Nazma Muller and Shelly-Ann Inniss | Issue 157 (May/June 2019) Essential info to help you make the most of May and June across the Caribbean — from motorsports in Barbados to a pineapple festival in the Bahamas and a marathon in Tobago
Need to know | Events calendar (Mar/Apr 2019) By Philip Sander, Kellie Magnus and Shelly-Ann Inniss | Issue 156 (March/April 2019) Essential info to help you make the most of March and April across the Caribbean — from music festivals to Holi poems to Jamaica’s Champs athletics extravaganza
Carnival, Trinidad and Tobago | Wish you were here (Jan/Feb 2019) By Caribbean Beat | Issue 155 (January/February 2019) Postcards from the Caribbean’s most extraordinary places
Need to know | Events calendar (Jan/Feb 2019) By David Katz and Shelly-Ann Inniss | Issue 155 (January/February 2019) Essential info to help you make the most of January and February across the Caribbean — from jazz in Haiti to reggae month in Jamaica to a film festival in Barbados
Beauty and the Beast | Panorama By Caribbean Beat | Issue 155 (January/February 2019) T&T Carnival may be the world’s greatest street party, but among the glamourous bikini bands and shimmering sequins, some traditional masquerades offer a defiant take on the darker side of our history
A beginner’s guide to the Jamaica Food & Drink Festival By Shelly-Ann Inniss | News & Online Exclusives Kingston: a haven for food-lovers. Datebook writer Shelly-Ann Inniss explores the Jamaica Food & Drink Festival
Need to know | Events calendar (Nov/Dec 2018) By Bridget van Dongen, Laura Dowrich-Phillips and Shelly-Ann Inniss | Issue 154 (November/December 2018) Essential info to help you make the most of November and December across the Caribbean
Need to know | Events calendar (Sept/Oct 2018) By Various Contributors | Issue 153 (September/October 2018) Essential info to help you make the most of September and October — from Labour Day Carnival in Brooklyn to Pure Grenada’s Dive Fest and the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival
Datebook | Events calendar (July/August 2018) By Caribbean Beat | Issue 152 (July/August 2018) Your guide to Caribbean events in July and August, from CPL cricket across the islands to Emancipation commemorations
AnimeKon: welcome to the multiverse | Word of mouth By Robert Edison Sandiford | Issue 152 (July/August 2018) Robert Edison Sandiford visits Barbados’s annual AnimeKon and finds everything from cosplay to sci-fi writers and video games
