Summer-Fest Carnival

Almost on cue after exams...It's a holiday on Statia...Summer-Fest.  I celebrated donation of my body parts to the exam process by going to the Summer-Fest parade today.  It started at the end of the airport runway, and wound it's way around the island "villages" and neighborhoods.  With 5 truck-pulled floats, 2 police trucks, 5 groups or troupes....it was considered a successfully, big turnout for Statia.  The Adventist weren't there though...it's Sabbath today. Did I mention one of the biggest populations here is 7th Day Adventists?

Carnival here is part religious, part cultural, part debauchery...a mix of fun, party, theater, folklore and a good excuse to close all the stores and leave work.  Hard to tell the origins but best I can tell it is a manifestation of the celebration before Lent, from the Catholic, 'carnevale'-which means "to put away meat." Somewhere along the way during the rape, pillage and conquest of the islands, Catholic Europeans involved in the slave trade brought carnevale here. Here it has almost become a celebration of emancipation and is celebrated with festivals year round.

Carnival, as it is called now, or Summer-Fest here on Statia, is celebrated on all the islands. Substance beyond the senses is not present, but not meant to be anything more than African rhythms, dancing, music, food, drinking, bands and parades.  Important to the Caribbean festival arts are the ancient African traditions of parading and moving in circles through villages in costumes and masks. The parade today was just that. As it wound through the streets of the island, it is meant to bring good fortune, to heal problems and chill out angry spirits.

There is an amazing amount of creativity that goes into the costumes and band floats. I've seen people working on them for weeks before today.  The "groups" walking behind a band float wear the same costumes. The band floats are mostly speakers and drown each other out as the parade passes by. Clearly the one with the most "amps" wins.

If you try to search for deeper meaning, you waste your time. That is not what Summer-Fest is about. It's about the joy of living.  Mostly what I saw was friendly, care-free street partying, where people smiled, joked and forgot the ills of living on Statia. In any event, it was a fun time away from the books for an hour or two and a wonderful celebration of the end of exams. Only 27 days left in the term.