Parties, parades, masquerades ring in S. Florida celebrations
INCLUDES: FLUSHING OF THE COIL, CLEAN BLOWER WHEEL, CLEAN DRAIN PAN & DRAIN LINE
This weekend, Miami Broward One Carnival will toast 35 years of hip-winding Caribbean dance and masquerade bands, soca rhythms and shimmering costumes with parties across South Florida.
The carnival’s annual blowout of Caribbean colors and culture will head to the Miami-Dade County Fairgrounds this Sunday, Oct. 13, with a massive bill of local and international soca and DJ acts, along with a parade of island food and fashion. The family-friendly carnival climaxes a week of satellite parties in Broward, including a Panorama steelpan competition on Oct. 11 and a J’ouvert costumed dance parade on Oct. 12, both at Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill.
Carnival events traditionally fete South Florida’s Caribbean communities during Columbus Day weekend, says the MiamiBroward One Carnival Host Committee, which has staged the festival since 1985. If you’re going, know that there are signature events and there are unofficial parties scattered across both counties, and many stretch into the early-morning hours.
Because sleep is overrated, here are the biggest celebrations on the Carnival calendar. get going from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12. Think of J’ouvert ($25 for admission) as a costumed parade of 20 calypso and soca bands, masqueraders dressed as devils and demons, and revelers soaked in mud and multicolored paint. (For the uninitiated, yes, dancing while smeared in mud and paint are part of Caribbean tradition.) There will also be food vendors, live music and arts and crafts. Both events will take place at Central Broward Regional Park, 3700 NW 11th Place, in Lauderhill. County Fairgrounds (10901 SW 24th St., Miami) with plenty of thoughtful pageantry. That includes 15,000 masqueraders (think feathered dresses, rhinestonestudded headdresses) in the Miami Carnival Parade of Bands, food and arts and crafts vendors, a 3 p.m. calypso concert, a Kings and Queens costume competition and acts representing Grenada, Jamaica, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago. Tickets cost $30.