J'ourvet!

What can I say besides it over! A picture says much more than words so I've posted a bunch to give you a overall view of what it was like in the way of the number of people. Nothing can describe the sound!

I was awakened at 5 a.m. as the the first double-decker flatbed, hauled by a tractor, rolled passed my apartment. Let's see if I can describe it. The top half holds the singers and extras. The bottom half is the band and enough sets of loud speakers to blow out Yankee stadium - and that's just one band! "Troupes" of Kittians are formed from area communities. They meet up starting about 1 a.m. at a predetermined location and the party starts. They get their troupe t-shirts and all the free booze they want. At about 4 a.m. they start 'dancin' their way into the 'Circus', Basseterre's city center. I lay in my bed and felt it actually rise off the floor with the bass reverberations. Even with my ear plugs firmly in place, it was if they were singing at the foot of the bed!

After a quick shower, I grabbed my camera and headed to the Circus to get a seat at Ballyhoo overlooking the festivities. The waitress couldn't begin to hear what you ordered for breakfast so you just point and gesture! By 6 a.m. troupes and flatbeds were coming about every 10-15 minutes, every band singing a different song, the troupes yelling, singing, dancing. It was amazing, overpowering and totally deafening! I stayed for about 2 hours and then just gave up - thinking I had completely lost my hearing, plus my camera batteries were running low. I came back home but with the circus only 3 blocks away and the flatbed bands doing a continuous circle of downtown, it was like I never left. Forget turning on the TV or radio or even an iPod. All you hear was the bands. My windows shook, my floors bounced and this continued until 5 p.m.

Need I say that the revilers got progressively more inebriated and joyful...and louder? The police were out in full force and at one point water hoses and billy clubs came out. But all in all, the entire day was a celebration of the Kittian people and I think every single one on the island participated! What does J'ourvet actually mean? What are they celebrating? I asked numerous locals and got numerous answers - all different. The start of Carnival seems to be the most common, along with the Caribbean celebration of Boxing Day. Whatever it is - it certainly was a PARTY!

I've uploaded a bunch of the 'faces of J'ourvet' to give you just a taste of what being here was like. Enjoy - I did.

ReAnn

Pictures:
1) If you look at the front of the flatbed you'll see the entire thing is speakers!
2) This picture was take from my balcony about 2 p.m. when a big troupe went by.
3) The flatbed band just outside my apartment
4) A troupe coming into the circus as the sun came up!