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Boston Carnival Fact Sheet:

Boston Carnival Village - It is a Win, Win Situation for both of us. Sponsor & Exposure...

Promotion

–The 5W’s on Boston Carnival Village // Source: Leonard Communication

Boston’s Caribbean American community celebrated its first Trinidad Style Carnival in 1973. It was founded by Ken Bonaparte Mitchell (1942 - 2008).

In the 38 years of its existence, it has grown from a couple of bands and limited support to over several dozen bands and attracts an estimated 300,000 visitor each year. They arrive from cities across North American, Canada and the Caribbean. Several Caribbean countries are represents in the parade such as Jamaica, Barbados, Antigua, Dominica, Haiti and Trinidad, and some African countries and many American High School parade bands have participated.  Some sponsors do have floats in the parade. Several political leaders including the Governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick and his wife have opened and paraded in Boston’s Trinidad Style Carnival.  

Although, many of the visitors stay for a week or the weekend many are only here for the day arriving by buses from across the USA and Canada.
The typical visitor is of Caribbean decent, however over the years many non Caribbean nationals have been attending the events, several of whom has go on to participate in the parade.
Boston’s Trinidad Style carnival is held in August, the weekend before Labor Day. The planned events are:

• Band Launching – Each of the Trinidad Style costume bands has a planned launch. The band launch is designed to show case their presentation for the parade (carnival season). It is an opportunity for the masqueraders to visit to MAS-CAMP and select a costume and section for which they will participate. Typically the attendee number between 200 - 500 people. Sponsor’s banners and other item are on display in addition to the costume. The latest Soca, and Calypso music is also played.  The band Launch is festive, semiformal and typically begins about 6:00 PM and concludes by 10:00PM

• King & Queen Show – This event is held in door and features the larger costume which is part of the band’s presentation for the parade. This event, allows the audience to see the very large costume close up and show support for their bands. This event is judged and there are several categories for which the Kings and Queens of the bands are chosen. The event also feature Steelband music, local artist and a major Soca Artist direct from Trinidad.

• Kiddies Carnival – is a day of celebration and fun for the children and family. It is held in White Stadium, Dorchester. The larger band that parade on the street had what is called a kiddies band. Young adults and younger children parade in costume around the tack. There is also other entertainment that includes face painting for the children, Steel Pan and Dance. It is probably the only event held in Boston that is dedicated to the children and family.

• Jouvert – Jouvert is another traditional Trinidad carnival activity. It starts very early in the morning about 5:00AM where the participants wear costumes of their own design. It is typically dark in terms of presentation and very humorous. An estimated 5,000 to 8,000 people attend this event. Most of them, arriving form out of town for the parade schedule to take place later on that day. Many of them came in the day before to check out the parties and boat rides that are held at several different venues.

• Boston’s Trinidad Style carnival parade – The participant in the parade (masqueraders) begin to gather at the start of the route about 3 – 4 hours before the parade begin on Martin Luther King Boulevard in Roxbury, MA. The route is about 1.5 miles long and is packed on each side of the street with spectators. The parade gets on the way by 1:00Pm and moves along Blue Hill Ave and culminates in front of Franklin Park Zoo, Dorchester, MA. Total time about 5 hours.  There is a very large food court located in front of the Zoo, which features many different Caribbean, and American cuisine, and includes such items as Arts and craft, Music & Video CDs, T-Shirts, Caps and several other souvenir type items.

• Parties (Fetes), Live Shows and Boat cruises – These activities are typically sponsored by local promoters and begin about 3 weeks before the parade and ends on Sunday with a typical breakfast boat cruise.

Sponsorship programs are available for each of the items outlined above. Call Mr. Michael Smith for further information. Phone 617-512-7803 or email bostoncarnivalvillage@gmail.com your business or service will be seen by an estimated 800,000 people over the course of the Boston’s Trinidad Style Carnival celebration.

Visit our web site www.bostoncarnivalvillage.com to gain better understanding of what this 38 year old cultural celebration is. Please call us if you have any questions.

We are Boston Carnival Village – Preserving our Culture through Quality Documentation ™Published: Thursday, January 20, 2011 –BCV_5Ws – Source: Leonard Communication The 5w's on Boston's Trinidad Style Carnival (PDF)