After-party only letdown - Extended fun on UWI's Ring Road

The organisers may have been trying to make the annual UWI Carnival reflect carnival on the streets of Kingston with their new 'after-party' format, but it was a move many revellers did not necessarily appreciate.

Some patrons with whom the STAR spoke to on Saturday night on the grounds of the Mona campus expressed disappointment at the level of 'vibes' inside the venue designated for the evening's after-party. They said that in previous years there was more variety and they enjoyed the option of choosing where they partied.

Aside from the switch-up in the format, revellers seemed satisfied with this year's UWI Carnival. Hundreds flocked the Mona campus for the annual march around Ring Road on Saturday, where the fÍting started as early as 10 a.m. Even when the after party started at 7 p.m., revellers couldn't seem to get enough of the soca madness. They already had a full day of action, but there were no signs of fatigue as the wining continued until approximately midnight.

As opposed to previous years where the carnival trucks provided the evening's entertainment, this year there was one sound system responsible for doing so. The musical 'juggling' was not bad; however, some patrons insisted they would have had more fun had they been allowed to truck hop and listen to whatever music they wanted.

Simone, a second-year Arts student told The STAR that although she understood the change, she didn't think it was necessary and expressed that last year she had more fun. "Last year was way better. The trucks formed a circle and everyone would gather in the middle. If you didn't like what that truck was playing, you had the option of moving into the space where another truck was playing better and the vibes did just nice," she said. "This year, it's just one sound and you are basically forced to listen to what the deejay is playing and sometimes it's not what you want to hear."

Another female patron, who identified herself as Shakira, shared similar sentiments. She told The STAR that this was her third UWI Carnival and this year's after-party was perhaps the most disappointing. "If something isn't broken, I don't see why there would be a need to fix it. I liked how things were before," she said. "If I could offer the organisers some advice it would be to give us back the party we are used to."