Trinidad Carnival 2020 Fete Review – Pon De Grass
Pon De Grass 2020 – The Carnival Backyard Jam and Grill
Now, this is a story all about how… I almost didn’t go to Pon De Grass but I won’t make that mistake again.
When I created my original list of fetes for Trinidad Carnival 2020, I have to admit that Pon De Grass wasn’t originally on my list. A friend, who probably qualifies as a carnival veteran at this point, told me about Pon De Grass. He tried to convince me that Pon De Grass was a fete I shouldn’t miss but at first, I wasn’t sold. By that point, I was already set on my fete list, had created my fete budget and was basically tired of spending money on fete tickets. So when he told me he had extra tickets and I could just tag along, my ‘no’ became a ‘maybe’. In my mind, I was like “hmmm… I guess. I don’t have anything else planned for that day anyway” but I was still on the fence. Eventually, I just decided to go and I do not regret it one bit! In fact, Pon De Grass is now on my “Can’t Miss Fetes” list for Trinidad Carnival.
Contents
About Pon De Grass
Pon De Grass is a cooler fete hosted by Konata, a Trinidadian entertainer, and his team at Emurgy Entertainment, the same group that hosts the Dirty Dozen J’ouvert band. 2020 being its 6th year, it is typically held on the Tuesday before Carnival Tuesday, this year on February 18. It starts in the late afternoon and goes into the night. The dress code of the event is noted as “like is ah jam” by the party promoters so basically it doesn’t have to be anything too fancy or elaborate. It doesn’t have to be your cutest brunch outfit; you want something that’s simple but still nice. Music was mostly supplied by DJ’s, including DJ Watty accompanied by Major Penny, but there were some live performances as well, including Iwer George. Iwer George was later crowned the joint International Soca Monarch and Trinidad Road March winner along with Kes for their hit soca song Stage Gone Bad.
Amenities – What was included with my Pon De Grass ticket?
As I said, Pon De Grass is a cooler fete so no food or drink was included with the ticket but there was a bar where you could buy alcohol and chasers by the bottle or cup. There were also several food stands where you could get gyros, bake and shark, jerk chicken and more. I actually got myself a lamb gyro when I first got to the fete because I hadn’t eaten dinner. Remember people, no drinking on an empty stomach.
After the fete, I swung by the jerk man and hm, hm, hmmmm… when I started to eat the chicken I had to go up to the jerk man and ask him where he’s from. As a Jamaican, anytime I try jerk chicken outside of Jamaica, I’m always skeptical because it’s rarely done right but this chicken was so good, I was sure dude was a yaadie. Suffice to say, he was a Jamaican man from Spanish Town so I gave him my big ups for the chicken and we had a mini bonding session. After bonding over our Jamaicaness and complimenting his jerking skills, I felt comfortable enough to berate him for not having any bread to go with the chicken. They were just selling fries. Either way, the chicken was a great end to the fete.
Vibes
Pon De Grass was nonstop vibes. Vibes on top of vibes on top of vibes! The fete was just so good. This was one of those fetes where the energy of the crowd and entertainers was as intoxicating as alcohol. The DJs knew their music and played the songs that the crowd needed to hear and the crowd fed off that energy. Whether they were playing the hits or the lesser-known songs, 2020 soca or less recent songs, they were played at the right time.
It was obvious to me that Pon De Grass attracted a good crowd that knew how to party and anywhere I looked, I saw people enjoying themselves. And if anyone was looking my way, they would’ve seen a girl having A TIME. Pon De Grass was so good that even though I had gone to two fetes before, I would say that this was really the start of the fetes for me for the 2020 season. 10/10 would recommend.
Oh, I almost forgot to mention that your girl also dived off the stage. A big song this year was Dive by Fay-Ann Lyons which has inspired a number of entertainers to dive off stages into crowds. At one point in the fete, Major Penny asked for volunteers to dive off the stage. I was quick to volunteer as tribute. After two others before me, I got my turn to dive off the stage into the arms of a group of men waiting to catch me. This was the highlight of the event for me and one of the most memorable moments of my Trinidad Carnival experience.
That’s a Wrap!
- Would I go to Pon De Grass again? Definitely!
- Do I think it’s value for your money? Yes. As a cooler fete, the cost of a ticket is significantly lower than the cost of all-inclusive fetes and how much you spend on alcohol depends on how much alcohol you plan to drink. Plus, if partying with friends, you can split the cost of alcohol, chaser, and ice and only need one cooler. I definitely recommend bringing your alcohol as opposed to buying it at the venue.
Pon De Grass was one of my favourite fetes from Trinidad Carnival 2020 and is certainly in my top three. I look forward to going to Pon De Grass again the next time I make it to Trinidad Carnival.
Until then, stay safe and happy fete-ing!
My top three fetes
Ahh this looks like sooo much fun! I’ve never heard on Pon De Grass but would love to attend a carnival in Trinidad!
there are lots of fetes to choose from when you do so ensure to check back on my blog when you are ready to start planning your trip to Trinidad
Looks like a lot of fun!
It was!
Wow! Sounds like an exciting time, and definitely memorable diving into the crowd!
I have never done anything like this but it sounds like a lot of fun. It is great the way it ended up working out for you to go, and then love it. Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I enjoyed reading about your adventure.
Glad you enjoyed it!
YOOOOO!! This looks so fun! I hope I can go to Trinidad Carnival 2021!
I hope you do too!
This looks like it was so much fun! Thanks for all the tips!
My pleasure!
Looks like such a fun time!
Looks like a fun event! I haven’t been to many festivals while travelling, but it seems like a great way to understand the local culture. I love that you correctly guessed the man was Jamaican from the way his jerk chicken tasted 🙂
Haha yea, it was common growing up to eat jerk chicken on certain days of the week so I have a lot of experience to go off lol
Diving off the stage! Now that’s a good one. With a great picture to prove it!
This looks like a blast! I feel like the events that we are unsure about attending always wind up being the best ones. Doesn’t it make your soul glow to eat a great meal from your home country? I’m so glad that the jerk chicken was great. I had no idea that bread is supposed to go with it! Diving off the stage? Girl, you are AMAZING! I love following your Carnival journeys!
Awesome post, looks like such a blast! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I went to Trinidad and Tobago when I was about 6 years old, so I think I’m due for another round! Lol. I wouldn’t know the first place to look as far as the carnival party scene, and your post gave some cool insight. I don’t know… I think I might have some stage-diving days still left in me! Haha. Looks like it was a lot of fun, and I do loooooove to dance!
omg! that would be so fun for you to do!!
This sounds like so much fun! I’m glad you decided to do the stage dive – I would probably crack my skull if I tried, but it sounds like a fun thing to do anyway!
This looks so fun! Your pics really show that you’re having a blast! I love jerk! I had never tried it Untill moving to Canada (probably not as good as the real deal in Jamaica) but I enjoy it!
I would go to this festival just for the jerk haha!!
You should definitely make your way to Jamaica one day and try jerk chicken and jerk pork, along with a lot more of our cuisine. Enjoy!
This looks like so much fun! Good on you for volunteering as tribute for a stage dive, hehehe. You’re braver than I am!
I think I would go for the food and music more than anything else, but I typically avoid big festivals and try to visit at other times. However, this one seems smaller, so a lot of fun!
This was a smaller fete but I would still recommend going outside of carnival season if you’re not big on crowds.
Girl, your featured picture gives me so much life! I wanted to go to this party before even reading the article because of the photo. Trinidad Carnival is bucketlist item for me!
Haha, glad to hear! It was such a good fete. I hope you get to go to Trinidad Carnival one of these years!
The things you dont really want to do usually turn out the best. Besides you cant go to carnival without doing it all lol.
Exactly!
I didn’t know about this festival, cool to learn about!
I’m usually not one for big crowds – unless there’s a great vibe, DJs or a band with awesome music, and a chance to chill and try out the local culture, food and drink. Sounds like the Pon De Grass fete would check all those boxes for me! Let’s hope that we can all travel again in 2021…I’ve just added Pon De Grass fete to my bucket list!
Yes, looking forward to being able to travel again and going to more carnivals and fetes
It’s so amazing that you had so much fun even without expecting.
Great writeup Juleen!
Thank you!