The St Kitts and Nevis Beach Buzz, Special Issue #001 -- Christmas and Carnival Video and Photos

Happy New Year! I hope you had a joyous and blessed Christmas. For those of you who journeyed to St. Kitts, I trust that you will share your your thoughts about Christmas and Carnival with the Discover St Kitts Nevis Beaches online family either via the forum or by sending a trip review or audio review.

Welcome to the Special Holiday and Carnival 2005-2006 issue of the St. Kitts and Nevis Beach Buzz. This special issue replaces the regular issue of the St. Kitts and Nevis Beach Buzz. First, let me apologize for the late publication of this issue. I know I promised that it would be out the week before Christmas, but in this case I hope that better late than never will suffice for you my dear readers. Unfortunately, there was a bereavement in my family and I had to travel to the United States Virgin Islands the weekend before Christmas for the funeral. What a hassle it was getting flights to and from the USVI. Flights were booked solid so in order to get there I had to go via San Juan on Caribbean Sun. As I hadn't travelled around this time since I was at University in the mid 1990s, I had forgotten how hectic it was to be flying to and from St. Kitts close to Christmas. Don't worry too much about the hassles though; what lies in store for you here in St. Kitts during this festive season is well worth it... Just ask the thousands of visitors and nationals who make the journey at this time of year.

In this issue, the featured photos will highlight what I consider to be a very important aspect of the Christmas and Carnival Season here in St. Kitts, the folklore groups, also known to some of us as the Christmas Sports. The 2004-2005 Carnival Photo Album that I promised you is not available as yet, so instead of holding back this issue until it's ready, I've decided to go ahead with this publication. I will make the appropriate announcement via RSS when the album is ready. My humblest apologies for not having the album ready. However, I have the 2005-2006 Cable & Wireless Children's Carnival Parade Album ready for you to view. Enjoy!

As we start the New Year, let me express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to all of you for being a part of the Discover St. Kitts Nevis Beaches online family in 2005. Thanks for all the words of encouragement and support sent via e-mail, instant message (IM) or expressed whenever we had an opportunity to meet face to face. A special thank you to those who sent donations just as a token of your appreciation or to help support the further growth and development of Discover St. Kitts Nevis Beaches. Thanks also to those of you who treated me to breakfast, dinner or cocktails when we got together. Your encouragement, support, kindness and generosity were very much appreciated over the past year. I look forward to your continued support in 2006 and beyond.

New at Discover-StKitts-Nevis-Beaches.com

In one of my earlier newsletters I promised that I would be adding some creative content to my site using audio and video. As of this issue, I am pleased to announce that I have added a new video clip of the Masquerades performing. The masquerade video is about 14 seconds long and was shot using the video function on my digital camera (still). Unfortunately the capacity of the card I use in my camera is not sufficiently large to allow me to store photos plus more than a few seconds of video. In the future I hope to continue adding video clips to my website, subject to the limitations of my current equipment.

This year I am hoping that I will be able to add a digital video camera to my equipment list, to enable me to share more video content with you. If you would like to support my efforts to bring you more video content, please consider making a donation to the DSKNB Video Project. (Please note that I use PayPal to accept online credit card donations, so you will be taken to the secure Paypal website where you can enter the details of your donation. You do not need to have a PayPal account to donate. PayPal processes credit card payments.) In a nutshell, the objective of the project is to purchase the necessary equipment, hosting and bandwith facilities to enable me to shoot and host video content about St. Kitts and Nevis on the Discover St. Kitts Nevis Beaches website.

In Tune with St. Kitts and Nevis

New Restaurant at Frigate Bay

Photo of Rock Lobster Bar and Restaurant at Frigate Bay in St. Kitts.

Rock Lobster, a new bar and restaurant located in a detached building in the St. Christopher Club complex, opened its doors to the public on December 2, 2005. The restaurant is owned by Giles and Debbie Lines who used to run Grumpys. It is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with the dinner menu being a la carte. Opening hours are from 8:00am until about 10:30pm. Prices range from US$5 - $30 and meals are served with a choice of mashed potatoes or rice, vegetables and salad. The food at Rock Lobster is great, but just don't take my word for it. Next time you are in St. Kitts, do check them out yourself, and let me know what you think, by sharing your restaurant review.

Carnival Exhibition at National Museum

National Museum Building St. Kitts (formerly the old Treasury Building) which houses the St. Christopher Heritage Society, National Museum and Museum Shop.

December 15, 2005 marked the re-opening of exhibitions on the refurbished first floor of the National Museum Building (formerly the Old Treasury Building) on the Bay Road in Basseterre. Currently a Carnival exhibition is mounted. It showcases photos of carnival costumes, the names and photos of past Carnival Queens and Calypso Kings, information and photos about our folklore as well as costume displays. A new museum shop now occupies the space that was previously occupied by the museum. If you'll be in St. Kitts anytime soon, do stop by the National Museum on the Bay Road to check out the Carnival exhibition. The entrance fee is just EC$2.00 for nationals and US$2.00 for non-nationals.

Carnival 2005-2006 Underway

One of the costumes worn by the Ms St Kitts Carnival Queen pageant contestants for Carnival 2005-2006.

Celebrated under the slogan "Rhythm, Sweetness and Plenty Lime... Keep the Culture Alive", St. Kitts Carnival 2005-2006 is almost over. In fact, J'ouvert and all of the National Shows have come and gone. So too has the Cable & Wireless Children's Carnival Parade. Unfortunately I did not take any photos of J'ouvert this year, however I do have some photos of the Children's Carnival Parade as well as a video and photos of masquerades performing at Cunningham Street in Basseterre. In the next issue of the St. Kitts and Nevis Beach Buzz I will have more Carnival video clips and photos for you to view.

New Book on Nevis

"Nevis as We See Her: Goin' to Come Back" is a new book on Nevis by Rosemary Willis Sullivan and MaryJo Cannon. It is the first book in a series of six that will feature photos and oral histories of people who love Nevis. Although I haven't read the book as yet, I am sure you will enjoy looking at Rosemary's photographs. In fact, if you have visited the reading room at the St. Christopher Heritage Society in the National Museum Building, you may have already seen some of Rosemary's photos printed on a patchwork quilt that is prominently displayed in the reading room.

Upcoming Events

January 19, 2006 Link Up

Photo from October 25 Link up at Mr X Shiggidy Shack

If you are planning to be in St. Kitts on January 19, 2006, please feel free to join the Discover St. Kitts and Nevis Beaches and Myeyez travel forum members and friends at their first link up for 2006. The link up will be held at Mr X Shiggidy Shack on South Frigate Bay Beach from 6pm. Liz Pereira will be down from Toronto and says she will be the one in T-shirt with the St. Kitts Flag on it. Also in attendance will be Joan Harrington, author of Live De Life: Caribbean Island Style as well as several other travel forum members including Paula, Ms Jilly, Craig and Bob. I am hoping to be there as well, provided that my job does not take me off island. So do join us if you will be on island. Looking forward to seeing you there!

Featured Photos

During the Christmas and Carnival Season in St. Kitts, the local folklore groups (the masquerades, mummies, clowns, mummies, actors, bull and big drum band) come out to entertain nationals and visitors. When I was growing up we referred to the folklore as the Christmas Sports. According to tradition, the origin of the Christmas Sports goes back to the glory days of sugar, when the slaves and the ex-slaves (post emancipation) were allowed to to party and enjoy themselves on the days between Christmas and the start of the New Year. Today, some of the earlier Christmas Sports such as Sagwa, Cowboys and Indians, and Neaga Business have more or less disappeared, but the elders in society have many stories to share about them.

St. Kitts Folklore Remembered:
The Christmas Sports

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The Masquerades, once known as the Indians, dress in colourful costumes decorated with ribbons, bells and mirrors. Their headpiece is decorated with peacock feathers.	The Big Drum Band provides the musical accompaniment for the various folklore groups. Some of the instruments they use include the bass drum, kettle drum, triangle and fife.	Another Masquerade group dressed in costumes made from madras. Despite the difference in costumes, they go through the same dance performance.

It is said that the Mummies are a creolised version of the English mumming tradition. The large sticks they carry are used in their mock fights during their performance.	The Clowns wear colourful baggy costumes, with bells attached and wire masks on their faces. They also carry whips (known as "hunters" in local parlance) made from plaited cattle skin. In years gone by they were accompanied by Millionaires and Japanese girls.	The Moco Jumbies dance on stilts in the streets. Originating from West Africa, tradition has it that the Moco Jumbies are mediators between the living and their ancestors.

The Bull is a re-enactment of an incident that occurred in the early 20th century at Belmont Estate. It involves a fierce bull being knocked unconscious then being revived by the vet. After it was revived the bull charged after the spectators who were watching on.	It is said that the Actors date back to the 17th century when they provided entertainment for French Governor De Poincy. Their performance includes jumping over upturned pitch forks and breaking large stones on their stomachs.	Today there are a few bull troupes including those from Mansion and St. Pauls. The photo above is of the Mansion Bull.

All photos taken by Amicia Mussenden Copyright © 2005. All rights reserved.

Inside the Mailbag

That's all for this issue. Thanks to all of you who e-mailed to say how much you are enjoying my newsletter. Your comments and suggestions are very much appreciated. Please remember to drop me a line if you have any comments or suggestions.

Discover St. Kitts Nevis Beaches, the St. Kitts Nevis Travel forum at discover-stkittsnevis-beaches.com and the St. Kitts and Nevis Beach Buzz are provided free of cost...

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Cheers,

Amicia Mussenden
Your Local Guide to St Kitts and Nevis
PO Box 1235
Basseterre, St. Kitts
Tel/Fax: (869)466-9052
Voicemail/Fax: 206-600-1756
Skype Me: discoverskn

The St. Kitts and Nevis Beach Buzz is a monthly newsletter dedicated to helping you get the best from your vacation in St. Kitts and Nevis. We aim to publish the St. Kitts and Nevis Beach Buzz on the last Thursday of each month. However, at times for reasons beyond our control, the publication may be delayed by a few days. I hope you will have lots of fun reading it and will find the information, tips and advice, helpful in planning your trip to our beautiful twin-island Caribbean paradise. Although I have quite a lot in store for you, I would be happy to receive your comments and suggestions for future issues of the newsletter.

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