BL&D getting down to business. - ContributedWESTERN BUREAU:
NEGRIL COULD have been tailor-made for carnival.
The party vibe and fun attitude is permanent. The blend of visitors, residents and semi-resident visitors is perfect. There are enough rooms to house a horde of revellers as they recuperate from one party just in time to head out to the next. The Spring Breakers are in town with the inexhaustible student energy. The Norman Manley Boulevard, lined with hotels and party spots, beckons mas players to 'hol on to de big truck'.
And of course there are seven miles of beach from which to choose a spot to soak up the sun.
Sun, sand, sea and Spring Break meet soca this weekend, as Jamaica Carnival Negril 2001 officially starts with a bang tomorrow night and continues over the weekend, climaxing on Sunday.
The first party is at Chances, with a Soca Jam beginning at 7:00 p.m. tomorrow and continuing into the wee hours of Saturday morning. The Sound Illusion DJs will spin the music to keep the place jumping and waving.
Carnival goers will have a whole day's rest before Saturday's warm-up Frenzy at Risky Business, also beginning at 7:00 p.m. This time, in addition to recorded music the soca giants Byron Lee and the Dragonaires will be on hand with live music, big brass section and all.
The rest period is shorter this time around, as the road march begins at high noon the next day, Sunday, starting out from Risky Business and ending at Chances. There will be four costumed groups behind the 'big trucks', but of course no costume does not mean no party.
Where the road march ends, the Las Lap Fete begins. Byron Lee and the Dragonaires will be on the stand at Chances, beginning at 6:00 p.m. giving Negril one last blast before it is all over.
Until next year.
