Photos, Video & Review: BHW Parade Of Bands
[Written by Mikaela Ian Pearman]
Thousands of masqueraders took to the road today for Parade of Bands – the main attraction of Bermuda Heroes Weekend. And even though the weather forecast didn’t look so great, the rain and wind held off until all the bands made their way to the end of the route.
The parade was held in Southside, St. David’s with the route starting at the old airport hangar and going down to Clearwater Beach. It featured seven bands – Nova Mas International, Passion, Code Red, Band Addiction, Intense, Caribbean Massive/Xplosive and Party People.
Each band had its own theme and costume style. I was a part of Nova Mas with my circle of friends where the theme was Azure. The costumes were a nod to the Bermuda Parrotfish.
There was also a costume called Radiance, which paid homage to the Bermuda Gombey. I must say, the costumes were excellent quality and the best out of all the bands.
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The parade was due to start at 2pm but didn’t kick off until about 3pm. Soca music blasted from the speakers of Nova’s truck and it was time to get started. DJs for the band included Dr. Jay, Puffy, DJ Chubb, The Freshmen and Riggo Suave.
The music started out a bit slow with older songs, but the vibe picked up as we made our way down the parade route.
A performance by Teddyson John with “Allez” was a highlight, as was the energy of the DJs on the truck. It made for a super fun afternoon. What made it even better was being able to walk backwards down the parade route and party with the various bands to see who had the best vibe. Code Red was great fun, as was Passion.
Once we got to the end of the route, the trucks parked and revelers danced in the parking lot, mingling with the other bands.
There were various food and drink vendors and each band had a hospitality station providing participants with a much needed hot meal. Unfortunately, the rain and wind picked up, making being right next to the beach a bit miserable.
One thing that was different from last year was the amount of spectators lines on the route. In Dockyard, there were a few people but not nearly as many as this year. It was great to see so many locals and tourists alike enjoying the festivities.
While the parade was a blast, there were issues with the drink trucks and tickets not being available for purchase. There also weren’t enough drink trucks, which was a bit of a bummer.
Hopefully organisers will address this and fix it for next year. But overall, Parade of Bands was a success and as I said last year, I can’t wait to do it all again next year!
Click to enlarge photos:
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Nice Pics BerNews..Better turnout in Dockyard last year..Respect to all the ladies that came out again this year.
Parade was jubilant and all were have fun….a few things. Southside is an excellent venue for watching and parking. However the 3 hour wait from 2-5pm before the first truck and dancers got to pizza house was a bummer. A missed opportunity for entrepreneurs to sell goods along the route was missed. Only Pizza house open with painful long lines. Side vendors could have sold drinks, popcorn, peanuts, facepainting etc….Lastly the trash left behind was shocking. Perhaps race organizers can hire people to clean up behind the trucks.
I witnessed clean up crews working diligently 500 yards or so behind the trucks. They were in trucks themselves. Doing an amazing job. Not sure how you missed them. The place was spotless before you could say Palance. I thought this super difficult to execute event was executed quite nicely considering all the factors. Well done!
#Carnival spectator, First off the entire BHW is an evolving experience. 3 years ago all these events didn’t exist, and yesterday was the second year EVER! For the Parade of Bands, and it was a great turn out for all involved. And yes there are some teething issues but the BHW is solid, and it will only get bigger. As for your wait next year its gonna be more people in the parade of bands, so that 2 – 5 pm wait might be longer, just saying. After the postmortem, the BHW committee will have new suggestions, new ideas and figure out the pros and cons of the entire weekend, to try and make it a better experience for all. And lastly about the trash, I have to commend the entire CLEAN UP CREW from friday @ nationals, to the juve’ and the parade of bands. It was a lot of work and they did it. # Carnival Spectator if you where to go down to Southside you wouldn’t believe that it was a carnival yesterday. Take a drive down there, CLEAN!
First of all it was not a parade. Its Mass. I repeat it was not a parade. Its a party and we can take as long as we want. I paid a lot of money to have fun. If u did not like the wait stay home. Please read up about carnival before making comments. P.s. that why you have Bermuda Day.
Great job to all of the bands and especially to Nova Mas!
People, please remember that carnival is not a parade or a bunch of organized dance groups – it takes a long time to chip down the road!! Now you know, so plan accordingly or just sign up to be in a band next year!
xxx
There needs to be regulations made for specataors. NO TENTS POP UPS ALLOWED. People understand this. This was not Bermuda Day. Your tents just got in the way of the party atosmphere. Some of you go mad because we had to walk through your camp site. What were you expecting? It was Mas not a parade people. You were in the way.
If the spectators a were in the way, maybe they should all stay home and you all partay by yourself!!!! buy your booze and food and play ya music!
Nice attitude, how did the trucks and participants get through the (illegal) gate if they couldn’t stay within the confines of the large 2 way road? The tents were not in the road,I hope all the people you have reprimanded let government know they can’t lock public lands off from the public, for a bunch of clowns who “paid a lot of money to have fun”..
Should have come on Intense, drinks (and everything else) was all inclusive #TeamIntense