Can you believe this was my first fete for the weekend? I stayed home last night cos I decided to act like a responsible adult & wait till de weekend to party. But it's now Friday night, and I was really looking forward to hearing some good music, so I was off and ready to go to Love. I wanted to see how one of the largest clubs in the city was going to be on Carnival weekend. Even the torrential down pour from earlier in the evening couldn’t keep me away (although I was happy the rain stopped before I left home).

I met up with my girl for a little pre-game before we headed to Love. We were running late, so sadly we didn't get to catch the Open Bar from 10 to 11 ... stueeeps, I still not over dat eh!! But moving right along..... We drove up around midnight, and of course, we had to valet because I was so not going to drive around looking for a parking spot. Luckily the wait to park wasn’t too bad. However driving in the parking lot was a bit of a road hazard. I felt like I needed a Jeep Wrangler to get through the rough terrain in the parking lot. It was even more difficult walking up to de street in my heels! I just knew I was going to take an L, but eventually we made it to the door, with no spills.

Photos By Alicia B.
page 3 of 4

The timing was perfect as we found the promoter waiting at the door. There were a million people outside trying to get in for free with their hook ups or on someone’s guest list. Good luck people! TJJ will see you on the inside!! It was still early so the 3rd floor, where the Soca DJs were setting up, was still closed. So we decided to walk around and check out the rest of the place. The DJ on the 1st floor was playing his Michael Jackson tribute set ... MJ, I doh care what nobody say, you are de bess!! Everyone seemed to enjoy hearing the old tunes. We moved up to the 2nd floor, where they were having some kind of talent contest ... "DC’s Got Talent" contest or something ... for real though, they need to open the 3rd floor cos I need to hear my Soca!!!

Finally, we made our move upstairs where people had already started to kick off their DC Carnival 2k9 celebration. Once we got to the 3rd floor you could hear the rhythmic bump of Soca. There was an eclectic group of friends partying it up. The two bars on this floor had a steady group around them drinking, taking shots and dancing. Initially, there weren’t that many people dancing on the dance floor however when the DJ started playing some of the favorites it quickly filled up. At this point in the night, things started to blend together. I was enjoying the mix of DJ Merry Perry and Hypa Hoppa (both direct from Trinidad) and the drinks ... vibes flowing for so. Everyone appeared to be enjoying themselves. People were wining & jamming to all de latest Soca hits. We spent most of the night on the 3rd floor dancing because when else are you going to enjoy all of the Soca & Reggae tunes at Love other than for Carnival??!! DC's own DJ Hazard was also on de 1s & 2s, giving de people exactly what they wanted. I tell yuh, dat man can plaaaay! It was mix after mix he was fling!! All the DJ's represented the Carnival culture big time in one of the most luxurious and biggest clubs in the US.

With all de wining we did and the walking up & down all 4 floors, I felt like I done get my workout for de whole week!! And before we knew it, it was 3am and party done ... my how time flies when you are having fun. The lights came on and slowly people made their way outside. 'Love The Carnival' was a good start to the weekend’s festivities. Thanks to KORE Lifestyle Group for having us, we had a blast.

I can’t wait until the parade tomorrow!