Vincy Mas: A Carnival With A Difference

Walking through a sea of people, the dusky sky lights up literally, from the glow of pyrotechnics onstage and homemade flamethrowers throughout the crowd. Even when the rain pours down, it only seems to fuel their energy.

The stands shake and rumble with cheers. You can feel the pulse of music no matter where you stand ―from stage side to sections far in the distance.  With each performance the chants of the crowd hit one’s ears. Word for word the audience sings along as artists command the stage, all vying for a shot at the Soca Monarch crown.

Mirage Mas Band, a staple in the Vincy mas experience for over 30 years, were all about birds in this year’s costume presentation ‘With Flying Colors’.  
Photo By: Joey James, DeGrind Photography

“We are SVG. We carnival is a carnival with a difference,” a man yells to me near the edge of the stage as a musical mash up of the Horn Up and Emoji riddims play in the background between performers.

We’re in Victoria Park, in the heart of Kingstown, the capital of St. Vincent and The Grenadines. Here, the spirit of sweet soca music envelops the crowd and keeps them in a state of euphoria during the biggest stage show of the carnival season, the Soca Monarch finals.

“You see the people… when the people call you, you have to respond,” said Skinny Fabulous as he readied for his high-tech superhero themed performance of the song “Soca Defenders” in a Black Panther costume. This was the six-time soca monarch champion’s return to competition after a two-year hiatus.

Die-hard fans of Skinny Fabulous, Fireman Hooper and Hance John, among others carry larger than life props through the jam-packed stadium. They jump and whine to the point where their feet barely seem to touch the ground from nightfall until sunrise when the 2018 Ragga Soca and Soca Monarch champions are crowned.

A group of friends take part in T-Shirt mas; a unique part of the Vincy Mas tradition which typically held the day before Mardi Gras Tuesday.  
Photo By:  Joey James, DeGrind Photography

It’s the sort of liveliness that can only be described as electrifying and is just one of the unforgettable experiences of Vincy Mas. “We will never brag to be the biggest [carnival] but we’ll tell you that when you come here, it’s going to be the most amount of energy that you can pack into a weekend,” Ricardo Adams tells me backstage.

That captivating energy kept me and the crowd going until after six in the morning when it was announced that Fireman Hooper’s spiritual themed performance of the song “Amen” complete with religious garb, crosses, and the ringing of bells, won him his 10th Soca Monarch title.

Adams, Chairman of the island’s Carnival Development Corporation (CDC), says that exhilarating shows like Soca Monarch in SVG help spread the word that Vincy Mas is an intimate, high-energy carnival and shows why they’ve dubbed it “The Hottest Carnival in the Caribbean”.

The 2018 carnival season marked 41 years since Vincy Mas moved from a Pre-Lenten festival to a summertime festival kicking off in May and culminating in July. This year also marked a turning point for the carnival season in St. Vincent and the Grenadines with the addition of weekly direct flights from New York City and Toronto to the new Argyle International Airport (AIA), which opened last February.

“The airport was a very major thing! We had planned to do this trip last year but accessibility was a very big barrier… So this year when we were able to say “oh you will have a direct flight that was a big sigh of relief, less travel stress,” said Dr. Raquel Wilson, co-founder of Island Fanatics 3D. This travel group was started by Vincentian young professionals to showcase the culture, carnival and beauty of St. Vincent & The Grenadines’ 32 islands and cays via customized travel packages.

The added flights and inclusion of new mas festivities as well as the desire to experience that distinctly energetic and intimate Vincentian vibe, has made Vincy Mas a must-attend event on the Caribbean travel and cultural calendar for more international visitors.

A Mirage Mas band masquerader crosses the stage before hitting the parade route. This year marked the return of the bands to the Victoria Park stage ahead of parading through the streets of Kingstown.  Photo By: Joey James, DeGrind Photography

“We wanted to discover other carnivals. We know Trinidad. We know Barbados. We wanted to discover new ones. And, Vincy Mas is said to be the hottest one in the Caribbean, so we wanted to discover it,” said Olivia Marechal who is from Martinique and came to St. Vincent for the first time this year with a group of friends known as “The French Soca Lovers.”

Events like Evo 4.1, which was introduced during the 40th anniversary of the island’s carnival in 2017, celebrate the Evolution of Vincentian music over more than four decades. The all white affair brings out the legends of Vincy music alongside some of the current music stars for a show that performers like Gideon James says is “the perfect blend of the old and the new.”

James, a member of the band ‘Touch’ which has won the most Road March titles in the history of Vincy Mas, echoes what so many tell me when I ask them how they would describe it. “We have a flavor all our own and it feels like family whether you are from here or not. It’s really a carnival with a difference,” he says.

It certainly felt like family as I made my way through the food trucks and portable rum bars in Heritage Square on a Friday night for some sizzling barbeque and the island’s signature Hairoun beer. As I waited in line, I ended up in a sing-off with a man who said “you think this young girl really knows she soca music” as songs blared from the speakers near us.

My sister and father regularly challenge my soca and calypso music knowledge, so I was ready for this competition.  A couple of Becket Cyrus, Black Sand and Skinny Fabulous songs later blended with soca songs from other islands, I got high-fives and a smile of approval.

That sense could also be felt during the happy mess of powder and paint at Color Fete, the poolside breakfast vibes at Skinny Fabulous’ Good People party as well as at the all-inclusive black sand beach party Slippery When Wet at Mt. Wynne. With well over 20 events to choose from during the final ten days of the festivities alone, visitors to Vincy can easily experience the personal touch that Vincy Mas offers.

Mirage Masqueraders enjoying the festivities on ‘Mardi Gras’ Tuesday in Kingstown. Photo By: Joey James, DeGrind Photography

“It’s intimate, especially if you look at our carnival Monday and Tuesday. It’s just one lap around town. We keep it very close, said renowned Vincentian Steel Pannist, Rodney Small. “All in all people are having the experience of their life when they come to this little island. This little rock, the gem of the Antilles,” he said.

I got to see the eye-catching presentations of the bands including SVG Players, Oxygen Mas and Mirage Mas more than once. As a longtime mas player myself, I really appreciated it because I had the chance to truly enjoy the intricacy, colors and distinctive designs that make carnival costumes pure works of art.

Even after that lap around town was over, the vibes continue on Halifax Street just near First Caribbean Bank with masqueraders as all enjoyed the last lap limes.

These are some of the reasons people like Rachel Louis, a Haitian-American from Brooklyn, New York, keep coming back to the island year after year. “I didn’t know a soul in St Vincent when I came for the first time five years ago, but the vibes, hospitality, the price, Grenadine beaches and overall culture make me return annually.”

The signature green shirts of the Mustique Company T-Shirt band are always a familiar sight on the road for Monday Mas in SVG. Photo By:  Joey James, DeGrind Photography

One of the things this carnival chaser says she appreciates most about Vincy Mas is that although its evolving, the carnival maintains many of its traditions including the Monday afternoon T-shirt band street party, rural carnival celebrations and traditional mas costumes for Carnival Tuesday which is also known as Mardi Gras.

As more and more private promoters and international deejays now have events during Vincy Mas, Louis says she hopes the uniqueness of the celebration is not lost. “As it grows I want it to stay that way. I want that local Vincy vibe. I want to hear Vincy soca. That’s what I come here for,” she said.

While some of the bigger islands have typically dominated the market in terms Caribbean travel, more people are frequenting islands like St. Vincent & The Grenadines, which offers a captivating blend of traditional mas elements and trailblazing carnival experiences with a personal touch.

“What has happened over the years is that the love is being spread across the territories and persons are patronizing the Grenada’s, The St. Lucia’s and definitely St. Vincent & The Grenadines,” said Skinny Fabulous.

“There is so much more to see in the Caribbean and we offer similar quality with a more organic sense of partying. We don’t come out here just to look pretty and take selfies. We come out here to out here to have a good time. We are Vincy Mas!”

Photo By:  (Joey James, DeGrind Photography)

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