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 York, U.S.A. — Every Labor Day, millions of Americans hit the road for one “last” summer weekend, and 2012 will be no different according to INRIX, the leading provider of traffic information. Through in-depth analysis of recent traffic patterns in New York City, INRIX predicts that New York, the fourth-most congested city in the U.S. and Bridgeport, CT, the fifth-most congested city, will take the first and third spots, respectively, for the worst cities for weekend road-trippers.

“Between Bridgeport being a ‘gateway’ between New England and the Mid-Atlantic, and recent trends and increases in consumer spending indicating that travelers will not fear gas prices, we’re predicting major delays as travelers leave town for Labor Day,” said Jim Bak, INRIX Director of Community Relations. “Best bet is to leave before lunchtime or wait for the evening, if you’re planning to get out on Friday. Travelers thinking they’ll avoid traffic by waiting for Saturday to depart will have better luck if they get on the road right after breakfast.”

Key insights from INRIX’s New York metro area research include:

• Traffic will start to build in New York City at lunchtime on Friday, August 31, and will continue to get worse into the evening, peaking between 4 and 5 p.m., with traffic in Bridgeport getting heavy thereafter and congestion remaining until at least 7 p.m.
• Travelers moving between New York and Bridgeport or beyond should plan to depart after 8 p.m. on Friday 31, or wait until Saturday 1 morning and hit the road before lunchtime.
• New Yorkers in search of a beach will be better heading south to the Jersey Shore than north toward The Hamptons: despite the closer proximity of northern beaches, the trip to Atlantic Citycan be up to two hours shorter.
• Gamblers beware!  Travel between Bridgeport and Mashantucket, home of the Foxwoods Casino, will move at 41mph or slower during peak holiday weekend travel times.

New York City’s unique geography will ensure that all travelers trying to get to or from the City can expect additional delays at bridge and tunnel crossings: the Throgs Neck Bridge and the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge, which connect the Bronx to Queens, will see delays of at least 30 minutes, and the George Washington Bridge and Cross Bronx Expressway, already strained by slow-downs caused by construction on the Alexander Hamilton Bridge, will be under additional stress—as will the alternative routes nearby.

Given the expected increase in the number of holiday travelers, combined with ongoing road construction and unexpected delays due to accidents and other incidents, Bak advises travelers to use free tools like the INRIX Traffic app, to help ease drivers’ getaway trips with up-to-the-minute information about traffic conditions and travel times.

Image Courtesy of  Kobby Dagan / Shutterstock.com

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