Freedom – Family – Fun! What does Carnival mean to you?
Carnival is an explosive array of colour. Ornate, extravagant, ‘Mas’ (costumes) stimulate the visual senses and community comes together as one. Cutting through the loud Soca soundsystems is the individual’s voice of what Carnival means to them. We asked some of our participants what they love about carnival:
“Being in carnival has given me the opportunity to travel, to meet new people, form lasting friendships on the basis from my love for carnival”
“Carnival to me means happiness, unity, and being free and able to let go of all of life’s stress”
“Carnival to me means celebration, culture, and unity”
“Unity, togetherness, love, and celebrating”
“Carnival means to celebrate a culture bigger and more vibrant than my own…and to express myself through highly detailed Carnival garb”
“It means creating a family, all cultures joined together having fun , dressing up, and enjoying the music”
“Carnival means freedom, creativity, and connection to an important part of who I am – a Trinidadian. My earliest memory of carnival is seeing j’ouvert while sitting on my grandmother’s shoulders. So for me it also means cultural expression that’s passed from one generation to the next”
“Carnival for me is spiritual and creative freedom, unity of people and a big part of me full stop. I simply wouldn’t be me without it!”
“Carnival for me is celebrating my heritage, and for my kids to be a part of their own identity within one of the world’s greatest events. For them to be part of that and celebrate makes me very proud of my heritage and mothers land”