All Roads Lead To Orlando This Memorial Day Weekend For Its Downtown Carnival Celebration.
Written by: David Lawrence
With many of the top soca artists scheduled to perform in Orlando Florida over the Memorial Day weekend, Orlando Carnival 2024 is destined to be an unforgettable occasion for carnival lovers.
Soca and Fete Lovers will have a hard time deciding which event to attend especially on the Saturday night of Memorial Day Weekend. In the evening, the Viking and Viqueen of soca, Bungi Garlin, and Fay Ann Lyons are taking the “Back In Times Lime” indoors to the prestigious Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center.
Entitled “Soca Anthropology” the soca ‘Power Couple’ is planning a hybrid event that combines Caribbean music and theatrics with American elements to create something unique and diverse.
According to Fay Ann Lyons: Caribbean and American elements would be combined to create a unique cultural experience. She believes this approach will expose Caribbean people to new experiences and showcase mixed cultures. Fay Ann said this product will not solely be Caribbean-based but will be appealing to people who have never been exposed to the Caribbean culture.
Two other events that clash on that Saturday night are Culture Fete with Patrice Roberts and Machel Montano headlining and Socafest with Kes The Band, Nadia Batson, and Mica Teja as some of the main Acts. With the feteing scheduled to start from Thursday and end on Monday, a massive gathering of Caribbean culture enthusiasts is expected to descend on Orlando for that weekend.
Ever since being the first carnival after the pandemic, Orlando Carnival Downtown has grown in strength, glamour, and numbers. This year the event is taking it up a notch with more bands on the road for the parade of the bands on Sunday, May 26th, and for the Jouvert the morning of Saturday, May 25th. On the Friday night, “Carnival on the Runway” one of Orlando Carnival’s signature events will showcase gorgeous models clad in beautiful costumes.
The annual Orlando Carnival Downtown festival brings pageantry, parties, art vendors, and foods from Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica, Guyana, Barbados, and other Caribbean nations. It has infused the joys of Caribbean culture and music into Orlando for more than three decades, and this year will be no exception, possibly the most exciting of all.
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