St. Vincent’s Carnival: Biggest Cultural Fest to Bring Vincentian Community Together

Caribbean carnivals are famous for their extravaganza and high-spirited performances in vibrant costumes. St. Vincent carnival is one among such wonderful carnivals. This popular carnival of St. Vincent is also known as Vincy Mas Carnival, having its own cultural significance and identity. The carnival celebration is a fantastic mixture of heritage, culture, life, music and colors. Traditional street parties, costumes parades, incredible calypso and steel pan performances, etc. are some of the major attractions of the carnival festivity that attracts people from over the world. This biggest, annual cultural celebration of St. Vincent and the Grenadines is a way to bring Vincentian Community together.

Earlier, the carnival celebration starts in February and runs till March. But in 1976, the then Carnival Development Committee (CDC) decided to shift the carnival celebration from February/March to June/July. The reasons for this shift are to get greater financial returns, to mark high participation by Vincentians, and to avoid the clashing of dates with Trinidad and Tobago carnival, which is more popular and renowned carnival, both regionally and internationally, and thus, takes all the limelight. Trinidad and Tobago carnival is celebrated in February/March, and celebrating Vincy Mas in same months would lead to greater financial loss.

Vincy Mas is the national cultural event in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, which has its roots in African culture and stems borrowed from European tradition along with Caribbean and local folklore. It is more than a cultural event, celebrated as the carnival of enjoyment, artistry, talent and craft, as depicted by the Panists, Calypsonians and Masqueraders of the island. The carnival festivity includes a whole host of amazing and delightful activities, such as

• Miss SVG competition
• The Soca Monarch Competition
• Miss Carival
• The Dimanche Gras Show
• The Junior Pan Fest (Junior Calypso, Junior Soca Monarch and Junior Panorama)  
• Miss Central Leeward, and more

The carnival celebration ends with world-known street parties of J’Ouvert and Mardi Gras. The Mardi Gras street parade is a colorful and remarkable celebration of costumes, music and dance. People, who compete and party during this Parade of Bands receive “Band of The Year” prize, which is the most preferred reward of the celebration. Colorful costumes of different styles and designs are made, using feathers and other decorative items, to give fascinating look to the carnival celebration. In fact, these feather-made costumes are the center of attraction of various events and street parades, celebrated during the celebration.

For making these attractive costumes, varieties of quills are bought in various sizes and colors. Schuman Feathers is one of the leading wholesale feather suppliers from where top-quality quills of different types can be purchased in a range of sizes and colors. The site supplies ostrich, peacock, pheasant, hackle and various other feathers in bulk for carnival festivity.