An explosion of joy and energy is what you experience at every concert and performance. A riot of colors and creativity is what you view at the parade on Festival Day. Exhaustion and drenching sweat are what you feel after J’ouvert morning, international flag night, and the last “Jump Up.” Such is the experience one gets at Miami’s annual Caribbean Carnival Festival held every year on Columbus Day weekend.

If you have never attended a carnival festival in Miami or your home city, then you are missing out on one of life’s great treats. Each year Miami welcomes thousands of people from every island of the Caribbean, countries from the tip of South America, and yes, even a few Americans into their city for music, parades, and kinetic concert performances. It is a celebration of all things Caribbean, and a gaggle of fun.

Created originally in Trinidad and Tobago, carnival focuses on the music form known as Soca; a fast and joyous form of music from the islands that extol the virtues of dancing, togetherness, and the all important “whining” of your waist. The festival is celebrated in all major cities, but Miami’s is one of the most anticipated.

This year the bonus of celebrating the 50th anniversary of Trinidad’s independence added extra “oomph” to the parties and events. Once again Machel Montano, known as the King of Soca, performed in the city at concerts: “Girl Power,” “Rave” and at the Sunday Parade. Machel is one of the biggest and most beloved soca artists. His performances leave thousands covered in sweat from concerts that last two hours, and push people to dance, jump and wave the flags of their country’s origin.

Being in the crowd at carnival can be intimating for the uninitiated. Party goers, often called revelers, love to dance, while gyrating their waists against each other. Once the song ends, the person up against you is likely to disappear instantly, as they move off to another reveler to dance with. If they are not “whining,” as they call it, then they are responding to the singer’s calls to jump and down, and wave their flags. It is fun, intoxicating without the alcohol needed, and as mentioned, tiring. Concerts typically go from 9pm to 4 or 5am. The day of the Parade, you follow along large trucks blasting soca music and trail after parade goers who are dressed in bright costumes. The Parade leads into the fairgrounds where each “Band” is judged for their costumes, and then prepares for the closing night concert. Performances this year were given by Machel Montano, Patrice Roberts, 10 year old sensation Devin, and others.

Miami carnival is both a celebration of the last carnival event held in the U.S. for the year and a warm up for the grand daddy of all carnivals held in Trinidad in February. If you have never been to one it is great fun for the family, or as way to relieve stress and strain from perils of work. Be sure to look for it in your city, or to attend it in Miami next year. It is guaranteed to be hot, fun, and a grand experience.

Image Courtesy of  Vania Andre

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New Orleans bursts at the seams with parade-goers and excitement during its annual Mardi Gras season, when the entirety of the city celebrates its unique cultural festivities. Although the Mardi Gras parades only occur once a year, where people enjoy one last party before the beginning of Lent, the parade floats and decorations can be seen year-round at Blaine Kern’s Mardi Gras World.

A factory-sized warehouse located just a few minutes drive from the French Quarter is where Blaine Kern’s Mardi Gras World houses an extraordinary amount of Mardi Gras memorabilia. Operating since 1947, the Blaine Kern Studios is one of the most prominent artist studios that produce some of the most exceptional work for Mardi Gras.

A majority of the floats and props seen in the New Orleans’ parades are created by the Blaine Kern team. Upon arriving to the warehouse, people are immediately greeted by a walkway lined with elaborately designed statues of animals, cartoon characters and celebrities. The larger-than-life scale of these statues is just a glimpse of what’s to come throughout the warehouse.

A one hour guided tour of Blaine Kern’s Mardi Gras World kicks off in the gift shop, where ticket holders are each given beads, New Orleans’ signature party favor throughout Mardi Gras. The group is taken into a screening room, where everyone gets to watch a short film on the history of Mardi Gras.

It’s in this film that people are able to gain a better understanding of the cultural importance Mardi Gras plays in the city of New Orleans. Tour goers have a chance to taste one of New Orleans’ signature sweets as well. The King Cake, a pastry that is a crowd favorite during Mardi Gras, is colored in shades of green and purple, traditional colors of the Carnival season.

After everyone has a chance to have a piece of King Cake and a cup of coffee, the tour is led into the main warehouse where all the artistry of creating and producing the Mardi Gras floats happens. A knowledgeable tour guide explains to the group how months of preparation and work goes into making the floats for the Mardi Gras parades.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the tour of Blaine Kern’s Mardi Gras World comes from seeing the artists at work. Talented artists with a love of Mardi Gras are busy painting and designing the floats as the tour group passes by. Each work station shows a detailed sketch of the design of the float, while pieces of the larger than life product are constructed before everyone’s eyes.

Station after station holds different intricately designed floats, all which are made to roll down the streets of New Orleans for Mardi Gras. These floats are never used for more than one Mardi Gras season. Once the parades are over, the artists go back to the drawing board to start planning their floats for the next year.

Everything from colorful flowers, towering elephants and gorillas, famous sports stars, celebrities, musicians, and cartoons are recreated. The floats are larger than expected and some can hold more than 100 people who throw beads and cups to parade onlookers. When the tour is over, visitors are encouraged to take their time wandering around the warehouse, to marvel in the floats’ elaborate designs and character.

Celebrating Mardi Gras in New Orleans is an experience that just can’t be found anywhere else in the country. For those who happen to visit the city when Mardi Gras isn’t in full swing quite yet, a stop at Blaine Kern’s Mardi Gras World is a must. Transportation to and from the warehouse is made extremely easy, as a free shuttle with multiple stops across the city are available. For more information on seeing the floats of Mardi Gras first hand, visit Blaine Kern’s Mardi Gras World.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.flickr.com/photos/21061651@N08/

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When we recently visited the beautiful passages of Paris, I was awestruck. I had heard of these places in stories, full of wonder and carnival-esque mystique. Somehow it had never quite occurred to me that these niches of dreams existed in reality, gems of history laden with memories. Built in the early 1800’s, these passageways were technological wonders, offering unheard of amenities to the emerging class of bourgeois consumers. Gas lighting and heated shelter protected from rain and mud, while creating a beautiful setting for copious goods, services, cafes and restaurants where one could rest and observe fellow lingerers. These cathedrals of commerce and leisure were a luxurious option over the shopping experience of hunting and gathering all around town.

Unfortunately they became somewhat distinct after the introduction of department stores, falling out of fashion permanently and becoming home to vagrants and gamblers. Today, only 20 or so remain out of the 150 original arcades, most of which have rebuilt repeatedly. Those precious few that remain still showcase the artistic wonder that kept Paris alive, filled with ancient book shops, art galleries, and cafes. The light twinkles through the glass roofs, and sunlight slices clouds of dust like mist over a waterfall, recalling stories past. It only takes one to shut their eyes and the soft hum of music boxes and the ring of children’s joy comes flooding back.

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Mainz, Germany – Everyone that thought that the German people are serious should experience once in their lives one of the biggest festivities in Germany to change their minds. Well it is nothing more than the carnival season. The carnival is one of the main events that occur in the city of Mainz, which is located in the Rheineland-Palatinade State of Germany, close to Frankfurt. The city is known for its history and being the home place of Johannes Gutenberg.

Normally Mainz is a calm city offering a peaceful atmosphere to its more or less 200,000 habitants. But it all gives a 360 turn when the Carnival time arrives. The city transforms, the streets turn lively and the fusion of colors, music, and parades inundate every corner.  Every year the carnival starts on a Thursday and ends up on a Wednesday. This year, it all started the 3rd of March, at 11:11 am, where all the people was gathered at the SchillerPlatz, that is a square located close to the city’s center. The city was decorated with music stages for the live concerts, food stands that offered the traditional German food, and a miscellaneous variety of costumes.

The first need you need to make sure you count with for the Carnival, is a disguise. It is amazing to see how everyone puts a lot of effort in dressing up and having the most original and amazing costumes. Ages do not matter, you see all kind of people and all kinds of ages enjoying and disguising.

Nevertheless, the most important day of carnival is known as Rosenmontag. Compared to the previous days of the carnival, on Monday the celebrations expand throughout the entire city, and the whole Mainz is covered in parades, and music. This day is the most celebrated in the Carnival since all the people are on the streets looking at the floats that circulate across the city. The people wave at the people that are on the floats, and yell Helau! Helau! Throwing to the spectators, all kinds of things mainly sweets, cookies, chocolates. The parade lasts for around 3 ½ hours, and counts with around 200 floats and 9000 people involved in the parade. Dancers, clowns, marching bands, horses; cheerleaders are all part of the procession.

Mainz Eassenacht Shrove Monday parade is the second largest one in Germany. Cologne and Düsseldorf are also recognized for their carnival. Every year the carnival season leaves a good taste in the mouth, and their citizens are always expecting the next year to arrive, since it never stops surprising. It is amazing to see how traditions are being maintained, and it is a time where the world stops for Mainz, and it is time to celebrate and have a good time.

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