Review: BHW Cirque Du Soca J’Ouvert Party
[Written by Mikaela Ian Pearman]
Jouvvvvaaaayyyyyy! The song blares in my head every single time I think about Carnival or hear anyone talking about J’Ouvert.
It immediately gets me excited and puts me in the mood to get up and party at 3am in the dark. Not to mention, willingly being covered in paint and mud then being sprayed with cold water.
Maybe that doesn’t sound appealing to you, but it certainly did to the hundreds of carnival junkies who partied until the sun rose. J’Ouvert was held at Bernard’s Park from 3am to 8am on Monday morning.
For the carnival newbies, J’Ouvert literally means dawn or daybreak in Antillean Creole French so essentially, you party until the sun rises.
And what a party it was. Revellers filled Bernard’s Park dressed in one of the many sections for this year’s Cirque du J’Ouvert – Dirty Bunnies, Wild Cats, Soca Gombeys, Powder Posse and Jab Nation.
The clothing was meant to be thrown out afterwards as getting dirty is the main objective. Also, most women had their hair covered to ensure it stayed fresh for the next day – Parade of Bands.
After passing through the many security checkpoints – there were a lot but they were necessary since someone decided to create and sell fake J’ouvert wristbands – we entered the party at 4am and got ready to have a good time.
Within five minutes, I was covered in blue paint. The paint was cold and since it was 4am, I was immediately freezing. But, a little dancing warmed me up quickly. I found the buckets of paint, filled up a cup and started dousing people in paint as well. It’s an easy way to really get in the vibe of J’Ouvert.
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The DJs, both local and international, played great music and really got the crowd going. Popular soca songs from this year mixed with songs from previous carnivals came pumping out of the speakers.
As much as I love J’Ouvert, the one thing I will say I hate is when they spray the water. A water truck is conveniently sitting on Dutton Avenue waiting for the perfect opportunity to wet the crowd. And they were very liberal with the water. My friend and I kept hiding behind people to avoid getting wet, but that only worked for so long.
I stayed at J’Ouvert until sun came up so that I could get some rest before hitting the road. It’s such a fun event and I commend the organisers for such a seamless operation. Well done BHW team. I look forward to getting dutty again next year.
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