Sunsetwkn to launch Tribe mas for Carnival 2023

Tribe Family of Bands (FOB) will launch its Carnival 2023 presentation next month with three days of events under the Sunsetwkn banner. Sunsetwkn will feature street theatre, keep fit exercise and fetes, with costumes for its six bands being revealed on July 23.

The events, scheduled for July 22-24, will begin with a "cultural spectacle" dubbed the Ariapita Street Theatre, from 7 pm, Friday, July 22, at Ana Street, Ariapita Avenue, Woodbrook. Elements of the band's presentation will unfold at stops along the avenue, Tribe said in a media release.

Spectators will be treated to a Broadway-style theatrical and choreographed depiction of cultural elements of Trinidad and Tobago's Carnival.

CEO of Tribe Dean Ackin said the aim of the street theatre is to bring the community together.

“The intention of the Ariapita street theatre is really to create that opportunity for the whole community to come together and celebrate our Carnival. We saw the response to Lavway, the feature film released in February last year – called our love letter to Carnival. There was a real sense of pride and joy and love for our culture when we saw the reaction to that film. We want to translate that now back into an in-person experience, something you can bring your family to and enjoy," Ackin said in the release.

He said it was also an opportunity for the creative community to come together, for the first time in a long time, to entertain and bring joy to people through their performances.

On Saturday, July 23, Sunsetwkn’s events begin early morning with SUNsweat, a free fitness fete experience at the Hasely Crawford Stadium Training Grounds, Woodbrook. Tribe said that while exercise and Carnival have always been linked, it noted that more than ever, health and wellness are a top priority.

SUNsweat's fitness routine will use traditional music and dance and will be an accessible and enjoyable workout for all ages, the release said.

Later Saturday night, Tribe Family of Bands will officially reveal the costumes of all six bands under its umbrella – Tribe, Bliss, The Lost Tribe, Harts, Rogue and Pure – at Jean Pierre Complex, Woodbrook.

The band will be departing from its format of previous years, as the Family of Bands has reinvented its approach to the band-launch experience for patrons, the release said.

On Sunday, July 24, the band will present Las Jam Carnival – a fete it usually held at the Stadium on the Sunday after Carnival. However, this time Las Jam Carnival will instead mark the end of Sunsetwkn and the beginning of the journey to Carnival 2023, the band said.

On the decision to have a three-day launch instead of the conventional one-off event, Ackin said, “We haven’t hosted a band launch since 2019. We knew this year we had to do something new, fresh and different. A multi-day event gives us the opportunity to create a range of experiences that can appeal to different audiences.

"We know playing mas may not be accessible to everyone but this weekend will let people get a taste of all the elements of the festival – the music, the dance, the theatre, the costumes, the fetes. Ultimately, we’re also hoping Sunsetwkn can become a blueprint for an alternative tourism product – a destination weekend that visitors would want to fly in to experience.”

Ackin expects 2023 to be a bumper year for Carnival. “We have had an unprecedented and overwhelming response to our pre-booking for Carnival 2023. Carnival is such an integral part of our psyche and who we are as a people. People need it. Carnival has always been a massive stress reliever, and we have had over two years of immense stress and hardly any form of release. Now we’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and 2023 is going to be a huge celebration of that.”

Ariapita Street Theatre and SUNsweat are free to the public. Tickets for Sunsetwkn’s paid events are on sale.