Patrons embrace Lost Tribe’s rooftop sailor fete

The Lost Tribe Carnival Feteyard sailor edition fete was a success with patrons, not only for the music and entertainment, but the opportunity it gave them to express themselves. The event took over the top three floors of the Furness City Park carpark on Friday night, a unique experience for many attendees.

The sailor mas theme was taken up by most patrons to some degree, with some choosing a simple hat, striped clothing or a simple neckerchief, others wearing full custom outfits, some choosing to have one piece of clothing fitting the theme, and some wearing whatever they’d wear to a normal fete. Blue, white, black and grey were the colours most in evidence, with many people sticking to the colours if not the costume.

Patrons were appreciative of the theme and the chance it gave them to experience the mas outside of its normal setting of J’Ouvert or Carnival Monday and Tuesday.

Content creator Afiya Francis, who wore part of her 2020 Lost Tribe costume as part of her sailor costume, said this was the first sailor mas fete she had been to.

“I’ve always been an advocate for our generation, the younger generation, to get involved in Carnival traditional mas, so I think this is a great initiative from Lost Tribe to encourage more young people to be a part of the culture and not just the bikini and beads. That’s what I love about Lost Tribe, they use their imagination with all these concepts and it really allows people to come out and experience the mas, and in our own way. We can still be sexy, we can still be fun but really we embrace the culture of Carnival.”

Jen Walcott said she always looks forward to the thematic aspect of Lost Tribe Carnival.

“We love to wear the sailor, we love to wear the mas, traditional or new, we love it, all the fancy things, so this is wonderful. Everybody has on something sailor, whether they have on their sailor hat, their shirt, a pants, something.”

Actor and educator Emmanuel Ansolia said, “I always have been a big supporter of this idea of trying to include traditional forms in what you do contemporarily, so the theme of sailor is nice, it gets people to come out and appreciate the mas for what it is.”

Another patron said she found the theme was different from other fetes, and she enjoyed seeing everybody being creative, although she had been expecting more of a J’Ouvert experience.

Some patrons said the venue offered a new experience for them.

The top floor, which was uncovered, was a liming area where people could set up their coolers, buy food from Taste Maracas and Wonton Hut, and sample free prosecco and ice cream, with a mini bar for those who chose not to bring their own drinks.

The middle of three floors served as the dance floor and at times shook under the feet of the patrons as they danced and sang along to the music being played by DJs Aidan and Jose Pedro, who kept the crowd engaged and moving. The percussion duo Boom Boom Room TT gave an added dimension to the event as they played along with the performing artistes as well as the musical selections.

The crowd was entertained by performances from Tevin Hartman, Kris Kennedy, Mical Teja, Skinny Fabulous and Olatunji Yearwood.

The intimate setting and reverberation caused by the venue provided an overwhelming sensory experience at times.

The lowest of the three floors was where patrons were scanned and contained a variety of sampling booths for various products such as Regina King’s Salt Prune Rum Punch, Sun Mix, and Tamboo Bamboo rum, among others.

Lost Tribe did not disappoint with their portrayal of the theme, with two moko jumbies in full sailor costume, three fancy sailors, wallpaper and lights adding to the ambience of the affair.

One patron said the setting reminded him of Miami Carnival and he looked forward to seeing more events at that location.

Chef Kelly Athanas described the use of the space and the setting as sexy.

“It’s unique in the sense of utilising dead space, because carparks are usually dead around this time and they found a creative way to utilise the space and I find that very, very sexy. I like how they used it in terms of setting up the food and the vendors and it’s very artsy, so yes very Miami-esque.”

Ansolia said he appreciated the setting as well as the ease of parking at the same venue.

“This idea of partying on a roof, I’ve never partied on a roof before, so this idea of being higher up, the air is open, the breeze is nice, the lights are lovely, it’s only going to get better and better, so I’m enjoying this. Lost Tribe always seems to hold itself to a high standard and this is no different.”

Francis said she was looking forward to being on the road with Lost Tribe and enjoying Carnival 2023, especially following that night’s experience.

“Carnival 2023 for me means a time for us to just remember what life is about. It’s about enjoying yourself, letting go, just taking it in a day at a time, and I think Carnival reminds us to enjoy the life that we have. After those years of just being at home, Carnival is a reminder that we all seem to find love for each other somehow, it’s there, and you know, you have to live, you have to find a way to get through difficult times and then Carnival is that time of the year to remind people that every day is not promised, where we can all say, we made it through and we’re enjoying ourselves.”