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New York,
USA -
It’s 4:30 a.m.
in the
morning and
the 1-mile
Flatbush
Avenue
stretch
between
Grand Army
Plaza and
Empire
Boulevard
is packed
with bands
filling the
air
with a percussive
symphony of rhythm and
soul.
It is Labor
Day, and
it’s J’Ouvert
morning in
Brooklyn!!
There is
nothing like
J’Ouvert in
Brooklyn. Pan, pan and more
pan.
In fact
nothing but
steelpan
music is
allowed. Few
events
capture the
authentic
spirit of
carnival as
J’Ouvert in
Brooklyn.
The mischief
makers in
the form of
blue devils
and jab jabs were
everywhere
doing their
naughty
thing.
Many of the
steelpan
players
fresh off of
the
panorama
wars
could be
seen
playing,
dancing and
have a
fantastic
time.
Yes, Sara
Palin, Dick
Cheney and
the Pope
were all there as
live ‘reality
commentary’
via Ole Mas.
There was no
shortage of political
satire. And the
steel and
iron bands came
out in full
force as the
parade of steelbands
stretched
over the
6-block
route that
passed
designated
judging
points.
Mud, mas,
paint and
sweet
steelpan
music were
the order of
the morning.
Thousands of
revelers
enjoyed
themselves
to the max
from the
pre-dawn
hours to the
sounds of pan
and iron.
The old
advice
really holds
true in this
arena: “Doh
play mas if
yuh ’fraid
powder!”
In J’Ouvert
- there is
no such
thing as a
spectator -
if you are
present, you
are a
participant,
especially
if willingly
or not, you
are
“adorned”
with paint,
grease, and
the like...
In
Pictures
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