Notting Hill Carnival 2009 Coverage :: TriniJungleJuice.com on the inside

The details are behind this report card is posted in each gallery (click on event name).

Please note that these events are premium carnival events (i.e. the best of the best). TJJ attended these events and rated them in our report. If an event is not listed in this report it's because we did not attend.

We encourage you to add your comments (for both individual events and overall report) to make mention of your favorite event this Notting Hill Carnival 2009 season.

TJJ's Party Guru's Guide to Notting Hill Carnival 2008 & Beyond

Here are your best practices, some tips and a few tricks to get you in and out of the UK with a few sticky buns, a slow wine, plenty fast wine and a cup of tea!

So it’s been written somewhere that outside of Brazil, Notting Hill is the largest carnival in the world! I don't know if that's a true fact, but just to say that with respect to size, it's keeping some good company, so keep up so you don't get lost.

Prerequisites:

Duration: The Carnival takes place over 2 days. Sunday (Kiddies Carnival & Dirty Mas) and Monday. Don't miss either! Mr. Cheap with your vacation days... yes YOU!! Leaving anytime on Monday is going to equate to grief and heartbreak. Tuesday is your travel day, thank me later. That's the leaving. For the coming part... of course like any good carnival, there are some fetes that you don't want to miss. So get there before Saturday evening for the latest.
Mas: Full costumes are available and you're going to want to get one. When the ropes are drawn, you want to be on the inside. J'ouvert is also very important, so sign up.
Accommodations: Beg, beg and I do mean beg somebody to sleep in their foyer. Besides being small, having funny smells and being highly priced, a hotel stay is going to have you playing constant catch up with people. Walk with a couple shin pads. Carpet isn't big on this island and sleeping on wooden floors can be a little unforgiving on the hip bones.
Transportation: Pending where you're coming from, it can cost your children's college fund to get there by plane. Be smart and plan this one early. Unless your people have a car (and even if they do), don't leave the airport without a mini tube map in your back pocket. Train stops are the only way to describe how lost you are. Also if you're not being driven, get an Oyster card to use on the Tube. It will save you time and mula; plus it will make you look less like a tourist.
Attire: Pack your typical carnival gear... jeans, t-shirts, strong man ting, short pants, sneakers. And for the All Inclusives, you would want to dress to impress ... shirt, dress jeans or soft pants, jiggy shoes ... some metro sexual business! Oh yeah, walk with a light jacket/good fleece ... it's London and it gets very cold once the sun sets.
Communications: Get a UK sim card. £10 should last you a good week plus for local calls and texting. O2 is recommended.
Health: Icy hot for your back, Epson salts to soak your feet and a wide mouthed vessel for unwanted liquor after the festivities.

Friday (Concert Night): PoisonUK Next Level throws the biggest concert for the NHC weekend, at some very elegant venues we must add, with the biggest Soca artists. This year's concert was titled "Energy".

Saturday (All Inclusives): Early in the afternoon, it’s not Friday but it’s the kind of happy hour you can do anytime. Free Food & Drinks @ Shipwrecked. If you're still walking, make your way to PoisonUK's fete.

Sunday (Kiddies Carnival/J'Ouvert): Get up very early because is all kinda Jouvert business; paint, chocolate, mud etc. We're recommending Pure Lime's Chocolate Mas - the originator of Chocolate Mas! They've been around forever and have a solid following of things that you'd want to follow. If you not down with the choclate, then there's Abir ... paint of all colors. This was their 2nd year on the road, 1st year as their own band, but definitely a good start!

Monday (The Carnival Parade): Is the same as the day before... early like 10am, except that the crowd has now doubled or tripled (not because of how much you have drank) and it's "Pretty Mas". Hot chicks in bikini and beads ... yum. Team TJJ set up shop with both Lagniappe & PoisonUK for the day, but made our usual rounds. And just like last year, Bachanal Mas band represented in full pretty costume catching our full attention (waistlines included).

Daddy Juice, Scorn Juice, Red Sno Cone and Dr. Ram Dass

The 2009 TJJ Notting Hill Carnival Team
Daddy Juice, Scorn Juice, Red Sno Cone, Dr. Ram Dass ... Posh Juice and new personal assistant Diva Juice (and oh yes, Dre UK ... M.I.A since Shipwrecked on Saturday night)

Disclaimer: Professional and experienced TJJ Fet-a-lot-athon® Party Gurus have rigorously tested these Carnival grounds and are providing said recommendations based on the fundamentals that the audience is a healthy rum drinking islander. If while performing any of these actions you begin to feel any dizziness, fatigue or pain please stop and consult your physician immediately.