The Carnival Doctor Bermuda Carnival Recap - Bermuda Heroes Weekend Part 1 of 4
http://www.trinijunglejuice.com/tjjnews/articles/4059/1/The-Carnival-Doctor-Bermuda-Carnival-Recap---Bermuda-Heroes-Weekend-Part-1-of-4/Page1.html
Dr. Rhadi Ferguson aka The Carnival Doctor
By Dr. Rhadi Ferguson aka The Carnival Doctor
Published on 24-Jun-15
I spent my whole damn childhood trying to find out how to get to Sesame
Street. And here I am. Good into my adult years and I still can't tell
you how to get there. And trust me when I tell you that I've been
looking. And although to date, I have not found it. I can tell you that
I have had the pleasure of meeting Big Bird and Elmo, but I've never
ever reached Sesame Street. But it seems like a really fun time from all
the videos that I've seen.
I can tell you, however, how to get to Front Street.
Front Street in Bermuda. And I can tell you EXACTLY how I got there.
>> Bermuda Heroes Weekend 2015 - Opening Night Concert Gallery>> Bermuda Heroes Weekend 2015 Coverage===========
Introduction
===========
I spent my whole damn childhood trying to find out how to get to Sesame
Street. And here I am. Good into my adult years and I still can't tell
you how to get there. And trust me when I tell you that I've been
looking. And although to date, I have not found it. I can tell you that
I have had the pleasure of meeting Big Bird and Elmo, but I've never
ever reached Sesame Street. But it seems like a really fun time from all
the videos that I've seen.
I can tell you, however, how to get to Front Street.
Front Street in Bermuda. And I can tell you EXACTLY how I got there.
One
day on my way home I got a text from Original Lime Flavour, Stephen
Choo Quan and he sends me this mix and the text read, "Listen to this."
So,
iz a Private Ryan type ah man and I really doh like changing up meh
workout music if ah ain' even test de mix yet. But, if Stephen say it's
good, then I will take a listen.
So, here I am with this mix on the ready for my morning workout.
And
after listening to the mix, I talked with Stephen and asked him, "When is
Bermuda Carnival?" He gave me the dates and I ran it up the flagpole
with "The Boss" a.k.a. "My wife" and she approved the travel.
===========
Time To Book The
Flight
===========
So,
I get on the computer and book my flight to arrive in Bermuda (BDA) on
Friday afternoon with a return flight on Sunday morning. That way I
would be able to do a quick trip and my wife would not be stuck with
getting the kids ready for summer camp by herself on Monday Morning.
So
I'm booked and ready to go. Friday morning comes and I hop on the
plane. As is my usual practice and per www.TheUltimateRoadReadyGuide.com
my bag is already packed and has been by the door for a few days. All I
have to do is grab it and go. And that is what I do.
Traveling
to Bermuda is such a nice experience from the United States because its
so close. You are there in a matter of hours and from the east coast
it's actually a shorter travel time than going to Trinidad.
Getting a flight to Bermuda is pretty easy...... Getting housing in Bermuda, well that is TOUGH!!
I am telling you right now that, next year for Carnival, hotels are going to be tough to come by. It was hard for me to get a place to stay and I booked relatively early.
================
Arriving In Bermuda
================
I
must say that the arrival experience in Bermuda was less than pleasant.
For such a small country and with only one flight to be processed the
customs process took MUCH LONGER than expected. The quick flight
experience was nullified by the long wait in the lines. I've been in
long lines before but these lines were not long at all. But the
processing took forever.
Sometimes these things happen. This
was one of them. I must say that I was somewhat irritated but I think
that occurred because I was so overjoyed with the speed at which I was
able to get to Bermuda. So I think that contrast between those two
events is what created that feeling. But I remember it vividly and
that's probably why I'm still writing about and I haven't let it go as
yet. LOL!
After getting through the lines, I walked outside and
was greeted with the most beautiful weather and pleasantries. The people
were so nice and so was the young woman who served as my cab driver.
She was just pleasant. I asked her, "Where's the garbage, the trash?"
She said, "Pardon?"
I said, "The trash!!! There's no trash or garbage on the street. None anywhere! I can't believe this."
She
replied, "Yes, many people notice that when they come here. They
comment on how remarkably clean it is. We Bermudians do not litter. It
serves no purpose to destroy the place where you live. We are not sure
why other places do this."
She had a great point. At that time, I was somewhat ashamed. LOL.
As
we were on the way to my hotel, Surf Side Beach Hotel I asked if there was somewhere that I could
eat. I was informed that there was a gas station right down the street
from my hotel. I was taken aback that she would direct me to eat at a
gas station.
Unbeknownst to me, but most of the gas stations in
Bermuda serve as full scale eateries. You can get hot cooked food there,
prepared sandwiches, and your normal run-of-the-mill snacks and
drinks. There are also salads and in some cases there are ice cream
parlors inside of the gas stations. It was unusual for me to see such
an all-in-one type of situation at a gas station. I mean, in the United
States we may have pizza, donuts, coffee and a Subway sandwich shop but
the gas stations in Bermuda were like full scale eateries. I'm talking
about Macaroni pie, rice and peas, ox tails, white rice, fried rice,
stewed chicken, etc.,. And in some places there were cooks who would
make whatever you ordered off of the menu. It was kind of nice and
convenient. But...... most of these places were closed at 12am save for
a few.
I, unlike my TriniJungleJuice team members, eat all
the time. So I bought sandwiches and chips and kept them in my room so
when times got hard I would always be able to eat. I do NOT like being
held hostage by my stomach or someone elses prerogative to satiate my
need for food. That is a recipe for disaster. So to eliminate all of
that, I always carry my own food. :-) And in Bermuda, the restaurants
in the hotels serve some great food but I can't pay $35 every time I
eat. That's not sustainable.
So, when I reached the hotel, I secured some
food and then I ate.
After eating I lied down for a moment to catch
myself and then took a fresh to get ready for the party on Front
Street.
I took a cab from my hotel to the Fairmont to meet the
rest of the staff of TJJ whom were in Bermuda. The cab ride from Surf
Side to the Fairmont was about $25 USD. After arriving at the Fairmont I
met with the staff and we walked to Front Street.
The walk from the Fairmont to Front Street was relatively short and relaxing. And as we got closer the crowd began to thicken.
It was an excellent scene with families present and having a good time.
There were children and adults and great vibes.
=============
The Crowd
=============
The
behavior of the crowd was 100% appropriate for the persons on the
scene. Of course there were nice wines being given and received but
nothing was inappropriate per the population of people which were
present. I was observing and all behavior around the children was
absolutely appropriate. There was more jumpin' and wavin' than wining
going on. That was reserved for J'OUVERT!!! (MY GOODNESS, J'OUVERT WAS
RAM!! But lehwe stay on message).
There was no misbehavior. No
nothing. It had a real family vibe to it and it was nice. When I was
there I was thinking to myself, "Man, my family needs to do this next
year!"
============
The Performers
============
Lyrikal,
Kerwin Du Bois and Kes performed for the Front Street crowd. The
feedback that I received was that Lyrikal's performance was solid and
that Kes was outstanding as he did a 60 minute set. Kerwin's
performance left the crowd somewhat wanting. A few observers referenced
his behavior on stage when the sound system did not seem to be
functioning properly and he showed he was disturbed by it. They
commented that it ruined their "vibe" a little bit and it disconnected
them from his performance. Personally, I didn't notice it but it's my
job to report not only as how I see it but also how the people see it. I
loved his performance. Some walked away a little bit disturbed by it.
That's just the truth.
============
Closing
============
All in all the vibes were nice but I don't think I could capture the moment any better than Lee Quest did here:
>> Bermuda Heroes Weekend 2015 - Opening Night Concert Gallery>> Bermuda Heroes Weekend 2015 Coverage