When the sun sets on July 22, the Spirit of Carnival will descend on Ariapita Avenue, heralding the start of the TRIBE family of bands’ SUNSETWKN.
SUNSETWKN, the presentation of the 2023 Carnival of the TRIBE Family of Bands (TRIBE FOB), is a compilation of carnival experiences in three days, starting on Friday evening, with a cultural spectacle called the Ariapita Street Theatre.
The event, which is free to the public, starts at 19:00 on Ana Street at Ariapita Avenue and elements of the presentation will unfold at various stops along the Avenue.
Street Theater Spectators will be treated to a theatrical depiction and Broadway-style choreography of the many cultural elements of Trinidad and Tobago’s Carnival.
Tribe CEO Dean Ackin explained, “The goal of the Ariapita Street Theater is really to create that opportunity for the whole community to come together and celebrate our Carnival.
“We saw the response to Lavway, the feature film released in February last year – called our love letter to Carnival – there was a real sense of pride, joy and love for our culture when we saw the reaction to that film. We want to turn it now into an in-person experience, something you can bring your family to and enjoy. It’s also an opportunity for our creative community to come together for the first time in a long time and do what they do best—entertain and bring joy to people through their performance.”
SUNSETWKN’s Saturday itinerary starts early in the morning with SUNsweat, a free fitness party experience at Hasely Crawford Training Grounds, Port of Spain. Exercise and carnival have always been inextricably linked, but now, more than ever, health and wellness are top priorities.
The SUNsweat concept incorporates elements of our traditional music and dance into a fitness routine, making it an accessible and enjoyable workout for participants of all ages.
On Saturday evening, TRIBE FOB will officially unveil the costumes of all six bands under its umbrella – TRIBE, Bliss, The Lost Tribe, Harts, Rogue and Pure – at The Launch at the Jean Pierre Complex.
The layout and presentation of the event will be a significant departure from the format of previous years, as Family of Bands has reinvented its approach to the band launch experience for customers.
Sunday’s event is Las Jam Carnival—a tribal celebration that many will recognize as the Band Family’s farewell to Carnival, where costumed masqueraders gather at Hasely Crawford Stadium for one last pump-up on the Sunday after Carnival.
This time, however, Las Jam Carnival will mark the end of SUNSETWKN but will mark the beginning of the journey to Carnival 2023 and the triumphant return of Trinidad & Tobago to the Greatest Show on Earth.
Commenting on the decision to have a three-day launch instead of the conventional one-off event, Ackin said: “We haven’t held a group launch since 2019. We knew this year we had to do something new, fresh and different. A multi-day event gives us the opportunity to create a variety of experiences that can appeal to different audiences. We know playing mas may not be accessible to everyone, but this weekend will allow people to enjoy all the elements of the festival – the music, the dance, the theatre, the costumes, the parties. Ultimately, we also hope that SUNSETWKN can become a blueprint for an alternative tourism product – a destination weekend that visitors will want to fly to experience.”
Ackin expects 2023 to be a good year for the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival.
“We’ve had an unprecedented and overwhelming response to our advance booking for Carnival 2023. Carnival is an integral part of our psyche and who we are as a people, and it’s been two years since we’ve been able to fully experience it. People need it. Carnivals have always been a massive stress reliever, and we’ve had over two years of incredible stress and almost no form of release. Now we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and 2023 will be a great celebration of that.”
Ariapita Street Theater and SUNsweat are free to the public. Tickets for SUNSETWKN’s paid events on Saturday and Sunday are on sale and available at TRIBE Mas Camp on Rosalino Street, Woodbrook and online at Island eTickets.
Early bird tickets for The Launch and Las Jam Carnival are $400 each. For more details visit the SUNSETWKN Instagram page at https://instagram.com/sunsetwkn.
