At last...Sint Martin Carnival is here!!
Ooow yes, the season of fêttin' started and it is time for Sint Martin Carnival. If you have never been to a Caribbean carnival, this is something you will never forget. Multiple days, all kinds of music, colorfull outfits and lots of food.
Yesterday I was in the festival village for the first time this year. During the day you have about 70 little booths that sell food and drinks. The prices are super reasonable on everything and the vibe is good. The festival village is where all big events are hosted and where all the parades end.
ShowS.. as in plural??
Oow you have no idea! My Dutch roots always let me believe that carnival was 4 days and the beginning of lent. But here is it different: carnival is a season. Take a look at the schedule!
Pretty Crazy right!!
Yeah that multiple days of events and almost to say a way of life for a lot of people. I got this image through whatsapp (so I dont know the source unfortunately) and this reflects exactly how Sint Martin people prioritize carnival even after hurricane Irma
The show must go on.
I have warm feelings to carnival and the village since I had a foodbooth myself last year. Super hard work, Ive never been so tired in my whole life, but the chance to have a little miniature restaurant for a couple of weeks is priceless. And we made some very cool friendships there, times to never forget. So yesterday when I walked in the village I felt some sentiment from not doing the booth this year. That was a choice. It was just to much work to do again this year with our current jobs. This was me working the grind there ;)
Everything in this booth was homemade and installed by us. Fridges, stoves,signs, literally everything. It was really our own concept and it worked!
The other side of the bar
This year I will be on the better side of the bar. I wont be going to all the big shows, but I love the parades!
This is a typical Caribbean carnival parade outfit. Lots of feathers, lots of skin, and well accepted to show some Caribbean butts haha. So many ladies walk these parades with pride. It beautiful to see! Minor detail, an outfit like this will cost you around $600-$1000, that is how important this event is.
An other parade I will attend is the jouvert morning parade. This parade starts at 4 AM and contains a lot of paint coming from the tradition that people cover themselves with mud for protection of the sun at the break of dawn.
During this parade people will jump in from everywhere and the fact that it STARTS in the middle of the night gives it an extra dimension.
Well there we are!
Two weeks of party still ahead of us! Time to hit the road!
Images from Sint Martin Carnival website and the outfit is from pinterest
Dit is iets wat ik graag zou willen mee maken, Carnaval op een tropisch eiland. 😎
Dat moet je absoluut op je to do list zetten. Goeie vibes en wat je daar meemaakt heb je nog nooit gezien in NL dat beloof ik je :D
Wow I am super jealous as it sounds amazing!
I think I have found something else to add to my bucket list 😁
It is actually something you should experience once in your life! Different than everything you have seen before for sure :D
Carnivals are a blast! And folks do take them seriously. I remember going to one and after the parade, I spoke with one of the participants. She told me that she had paid $3000 for her costume! That's insane!
Wowwwwwww, thats even more crazy! I already found this super expensive! But same there then: carnival is no joke but something people are literally living for!
WOW, great pictures and story. I love the cartoon with the money jars. I got to spend a couple of days in St Maartens a few years back and it was beautiful, with friendly people and good memories. Looks like a great time, but a whole month may be a little too much every day for me LOL :)
A whole month will kill you! hahahah.. That is just way to much
Cool you have visited here! Its such a small sweet little island that unfortenaly has changed a lot after the hurricane last year. Do you remember where you guys stayed at that time? Maybe I know an update on that place how it is now
I'm not sure where it was, we did several islands over 10 days, spending a couple of days just enjoying the beaches, and locals at each one. I love snorkeling and disappearing under the water into a new world, floating around and watching aquatic life go about its day. SO I remember that more than anything else LOL.
Sorry to hear about the hurricane, nature can be devastating as it is gentle and rare. thank you for your post. :D
Looks like so much fun! Wish I was there. Upvoted :)
If you ever have the chance to take your RV there you really should haha!
You know it's gonna be a lit festival when it starts at 4am! Lol
But honestly, that looks like so much fun! Hope you have a great time there. Also, when you did your booth did you get your investment back and more? Hahaha was just wondering
Well because it was our first year so people didnt know us and we had to make a lot of investments we ended up break even. I know some people make a lot of money with it, but those are mostly drinkbooths. Serving food has so much hidden costs in it.
And yeah, especially the 4 am parade is really special i find. Set your alarm in the morning to go out drinking. kind of crazy, but o-so much fun ;)))
Hidden costs? Didn't know that, thought running a restaurant was pretty straightforward. It must've been an awesome experience though, maybe if you kept doing it you'd get more customers every year but alas we can't always do what we want.
Drinking at 4 am? That's K R A Z Y
Exactly, if we had done it again this year it would have payed off for sure, knowing what we know now.
In the end calculating in a restaurant is pretty straight forward, but it is a little bit more different in a pop up restaurant. We had to keep the prices low because we were new thats a starter. Secondly we did not know what to expect in terms of how much would be sold during those 3 weeks.
And third, in a pop up restaurant with 38 degrees celsius inside stuff tends to spoil a bit faster ;)
But mostly I mean like in food extra stuff as: to go boxes, cutlery, sauce, frying oil, charcoil, lighters for under shaving dishes.
With drinks you need cups and ice-the end
IT starts at 4am, that is awesome! I cannot believe how expensive those outfits can be and how involved everyone gets into it.
Its really culture and people go all-in in every kind of way! haha
yeah especially that parade is really fun but sometimes also really a mess. Breakfast at 4 together with loads of alcohol does not always end up good, but dancing into the light of day is really something special!
I am from the Canary Islands and there the Carnival is very similar and massive as well. Tenerife is one of the biggest in the world, people spend so much doing massive costumes for the parades. On one hand I love the costumes, but everyone goes so crazy and everything gets so dangerous. It like if everything halts
This also sounds so familiar! Normal life just stops when carnival is here, and people go ballistic on party mode.
For me it is also such a mystery to spend THAT amount of money on those kinds of costumes.
Maybe carnival is just a real island thing ;)
hahah, maybe, I confess I'm too quiet for it, I do love to dress up (in my own way) for my photography and art, but I rarely went outside during carnival, I would watch on television the parades and the election of the Queen though cos the Gala had this massive costumes that takes almost a year to be done :).
Thats what I liked about it last year. When you are working in the village, you are in the center of the festivities. Because I will not go to all of the shows every day. The go on until 3-4 AM and I have to work the day after.
Actually seeing the parades on TV is often better than live to really see the outfits, but the vibe is best while being outside
Wow just like the carnaval in South America! Sounds really fun!
Ahaaa...I hear some experience from you there as well?
Yeah it is fun, (but not if you are still on call for work like I am and you cant get anywhere because of parades hahaha)
I am from the Canary Islands and there the Carnival is very similar and massive as well. Each island has different festivities but they're very similar, we call them "comparsas" and then there are parades, queen of the Carnival elections...