People are now discussing fete tickets and prices and what they want to do. I am torn between visiting old standbys or trying new things. I’m leaning towards doing both: hey, its carnival right?

I have my official Fantasy carnival email explaining the fast track option. I’m really playing in the costume I dreamed about! And my girls are at least playing together for jouvert so we have that. Even our fete schedules are all over the place, my goodness!

Next stop: I must get my Monday wear together. It is time. LOL

I have been frantic with preparation this year because I have travel plans and a long list of people to visit along the way. I am looking forward to having a few days to breathe and relax before the pre-carnival preparations begin in earnest.

I’m also planning my travel schedule for 2012. God-willing, I’ll be able to see through plans to visit, Atlanta, Miami, Haiti and Cropover.

So Happy Holidays to everyone during this most precious time. Take a breather because soon we will be back here in a carnival frenzy of songs, flights and costumes. Do you have your Monday wear yet? Ahhhh!!!

P.S. Don’t forget to add me at my facebook page if you haven’t already. My daily music posts from Tues thru Fri start in earnest next week!

“To create the life of your dreams, the time has come for you to love You. Focus on Your
joy. Do all the things that make You feel good. Love You, inside and out. Everything will change in your life, when you change the inside of you. Allow the Universe to give you every good thing you deserve, by being a magnet to them all. To be a magnet for every single thing you deserve, you must be a magnet of love.”
― Rhonda Byrne

I have been re-reading “The Secret” and other works by Rhonda Byrne lately and one thing she seems to stress a lot is love. Manifesting your dreams and desires via the law of attraction has in large part to do with the love that you send out into the Universe and the joy and gratitude you feel in your life.

I never realized before how much I unconsciously use these teachings in my life. I am generally a very happy happy person. I like to smile and laugh and have a good time with the people I care about.

I have been thinking lately on how large a part of that carnival is. For those of us who live abroad in places that turn cold and chilly in February, carnival can be a lifeline. It’s a burst of energy in a very dreary cold season. It gets me through the first truly cold days of December and January. It pumps me up with happy memories from March right through April when the first buds of Spring are blooming. It keeps me and all my friends laughing with funny memories through the remainder of the year.

I think it would be interesting to do a study, maybe examine the “happiness quotient” of carnival enthusiasts as opposed to others who don’t have this wonderful event to look forward to every year, or those who scoff at the idea that carnival can be so important to so many people. I wonder if carnival enthusiasts are also people who are generally happier because they can easily manifest their desires through the happiness that they feel towards carnival.

At the end of the day, we have no idea what this thing called life is. Yes we all have our various theories, but no one knows for sure. All we can do is navigate as best we can. But I wonder, do carnival fanatics navigate it just a bit better than the rest? Do we tend to get more of what we want out of life because we have accepted and we do what makes us happy, and damn what anyone else has to say? Hmmmm……

I have been ripping & running, going to all kinds of concerts and holiday parties and ting. New entries in the works include “Carnival & The Law of Atrraction” and “What is the Caribbean?”

What was I going to do? I’ve been playing with Tribe for a while, and I had yet to come across another band to replace them. I looked at other bands half-heartedly. I even considered skipping carnival altogether, which was almost unthinkable after having to cancel my trip last minute in 2011.

Then one day I stumbled across A Book of Angels. And from that moment on, my mind was made up. Nothing was going to stop me from being in this band. The Fantasy Carnival 2012 presentation provided everything that I wanted and more: color, wings, bling, large headpieces & feathers. I fell in love with the costumes, so much so that I couldn’t choose a #1. I began an intense campaign with my friends. Some were unwilling to leave Tribe/Bliss. They did not want to take the risk of not receiving their customary service. Others bypassed everything and declared Yuma their choice even before the band had launched.

Thankfully, the buzz surrounding Fantasy is loud. And so it is that I found some friends willing to take the risk with a new band.

The most difficult aspect of this decision is that my group is fragmented. We spend a lot of money to play mas in Trinidad every year and create memories together on the road. This year I have friends playing in different bands for both pretty mas and j’ouvert. Yes, we still have the fetes, but it’s not the same.

It has affected my excitement and the build-up to the season. My girls who I would call excitedly in these months leading up to carnival to talk about our costumes and make-up choices and Monday wear are in different bands. I don’t really recall or care what Tribes 2012 costumes look like and I have no memory of Yuma’s 2012 presentation at all. And my friends are more fixated on their own costumes. It’s very different when you are all playing together, you stare at the entire band and remember details about your friend’s sections. I feel disconnected.

But carnival approaches fast and furious. And, God-willing, I will be chipping with Fantasy Carnival in the streets of Port of Spain come February 2012!

Haiti Cultural Exchange presents

November 18, 6-10 PM and November 19-20, 12-9 PM.

WHAT:
Haiti Cultural Exchange invites the community to a 3-day weekend festival to celebrate the complexities of Haitian culture and society. An Opening Reception at the kicks off the weekend at the Brooklyn Museum, and is followed by 2 days of film screenings. This film festival will bring the vibrant Haitian culture to Downtown Brooklyn!

The HCX | Haiti Film Fest is an event for anyone and everyone interested in Haitian culture and film. The films are interesting, diverse, and provocative and present the Haitian culture from a multitude of perspectives! This film festival will include films from contemporary Haitian filmmakers, films about Haiti’s Diaspora, as well as films from the beginning of Haiti’s presence on-screen.

SIGHTS & SOUNDS:
Opening Reception:
Haitian Music Legendary Haitian music group Orchestre Septentrional.

Film Screening of “When the Drum is Beating,” a 52-minute documentary following the lives of Orchestre Septentrional.

Film Festival:
Film Screening and Discussions 12 films on topics varying from everyday Haitian lives, the earthquake’s aftermath, politics, zombies and more, followed by conversations with some of the filmmakers.

WHERE:
Brooklyn Museum, Opening Night Reception (11/18),200 Eastern Parkway Brooklyn, NY 11238

Long Island University: Brooklyn, Spike Lee Screening Room, Film Festival (11/19-11/20), 1 University Plaza Brooklyn, New York 11201

BACKGROUND:
Haiti Cultural Exchange (HCX) was founded to develop, present and promote the cultural expressions of the Haitian people.HCX seeks to raise awareness of social issues and foster cultural understanding and appreciation through programs in the arts, education and public affairs. For more information about Haiti Cultural Exchange, please visit www.haiticulturalx.org.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Regine Roumain – (347) 565 4429 (office), regine@haiticulturalx.org

Stay tuned for December 1, 2011…