Viva La Carnival, the big truck cooler fete, is finally coming to Saint Lucia after making its mark first in Dominica, then Jamaica and Miami.
According to Devin St Hilaire, his multicultural diaspora team based in Miami is ready to welcome Saint Lucians and visitors to a unique and premium fete experience at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground on Saturday from 4 p.m.
The announcement was made on Thursday during a press promotion for Dominica’s World Creole Music Festival facilitated by the Ministry of Tourism and the Saint Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association.
“This is going to be a special project for Saint Lucia Carnival. For the very first time, Viva La Carnival, which has been held in Dominica many times, Miami many times as well as Jamaica, is finally here in Saint Lucia,” St Hilaire told St Lucia Times.
“This product is going to be different in that it is an event with international appeal, but as we do everywhere we go, we have the local element. So we will be featuring a lot of Saint Lucian entertainment mixed with a blend of International and regional deejays and performers.
Viva La Carnival will feature Triple K out of Dominica, DJ Private Ryan, Selector Kerry and Major Pennie from Trinidad, Saint Lucia’s Ezra D’Funmachine, Hollywood HP, DJ Levi Chin, Baba Rootz and DJ Chengz, and Payou and Dankers from Guadeloupe and Martinique.
“It is going to be a melting pot of cultures as well as giving patrons that carnival feel with our big truck concept,” St Hilaire said.
According to the promoter, the move to include Saint Lucia on the Viva La Carnival calendar was a natural one, recognising the growth of Saint Lucia’s carnival and music.
“So we took notice of that, and also we were able to partner with some of our key brand partners to make it possible. For example, a lot of infrastructure we needed was not available here, so we were able to partner with King Ocean to bring out some of this from Dominica. We were also able to partner with the ministry, Piton Beer, and just great cooperation happening at all levels to make this possible,” he said.