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It was my first visit to the Saint Lucia King and Queen show now that it had been moved to a new venue. I wasn't sure what to expect after hearing some negative publicity on the radio regarding the new venue but I was very excited to see what the show had in store!

CROWD:
Entering the venue I noticed the crowd was a bit slim though I'm sure most people would show up later since the Groovy Soca competition was being held after the King and Queen show. The venue was quite spacious and despite the negative talks it seemed to work out quite well.

VENUE/ACCESSIBILITY:
The location of the event was very convenient for most people since it was located in the capital city of Castries. The size of the venue seemed perfect for the amount of people and there was ample space for sponsors to show their branding. The stage was positioned with the Castries harbour beautifully set in the background. This added to the great ambiance of the event. Parking was only available on the main road which created a bit of difficulty for people arriving later on in the evening due to limited availability. 

VIBE:
Unfortunately I showed up to the event a bit late and missed the entire Queen competition but luckily I was able to see all the King costumes. There were almost 10 contestants with each large band being represented. The crowd was very quiet and seemed to just be viewing the costumes as they came on stage.

FOOD & DRINKS:
Food and drinks were readily available throughout the venue for purchase. Lines seemed to be quite short and it was very easy to get whatever was needed.

SERVICE:
Service was great. There were short lines to enter the venue and a lot of security.

COST/VALUE:
General Admission EC$30. This included the King and Queen show along with the Groovy Soca Monarch competition. Quite a deal for both shows!

The KING competition was won by Rituals carnival band presenting “The Maharaja’s Temple” displayed by  Martin Dorville, second place was taken by RED Unlimited presenting “RED Dawn” displayed by Francis “Parry” Daniel with third place being St. Lucian Spirit presenting “The Bombing of Lady Nelson” worn by Reginald St. Juste.

The QUEEN of the bands was also taken by Rituals carnival band presenting ""Duwali: Light of the World” displayed by Sharon Tanner, with second place being Mas Action….The Band presenting “LANDSLIP” worn by Zizi Pitcairn and in third place was Toxik presenting “White Magic” shown by Natasha Dubois.

In all, the show was very impressive with many large, creative and colourful costumes lighting up the stage. I recommend the two shows be split up next year due to the length of each since the Groovy Soca Monarch didn't begin until after 11:30pm and went into the late hours of the morning. Recovering from Machel Montano HD and with another grueling day of work on my mind I decided to leave the Groovy monarch show after the first performance. I look forward to catching this event next year!

- Mistel Glo Ko Ko Juice

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>> View St. Lucia Carnival King & Queen Show 2011 Gallery
>> View St. Lucia Carnival 2011 Coverage