Notting Hill Carnival
Hot
Caribbean climate in the center of England
It
was a wonderful event, the music was fabulous, and everybody was having a lot
of fun watching all the colourful parade and dancing to the hot rhythms. Even
the famous English weather was in a great carnival mood. It wasn't raining; it
was quite warm and sunny.
By EWELINA KIERZKOWSKA
from
Greifswald, GERMANY
Notting Hill, is a part of West
London. Usually it's a calm and quiet place. There is a market selling fruits
and vegetables on weekdays and antiques on Portobello Market at the weekend. Notting
Hill may seem to be far away from the Caribbean, but during the last weekend in
August you may think it's so pretty close, its streets are filled up with large,
colorful crowds dancing to the noisy sounds of Salsa, mix of jazz, soul, hip-hop,
funk and drum and bass music, watching costumed Mas bands, steel bands and floats.
The carnival is organised into four disciplines: costume masquerade, steel band,
calypso and SOCA (Sounds of Caribbean and Africa, a distinctive fusion of musical
styles). 
For
the one weekend in the year the cold English weather is changing into hot, Caribbean
climate.
This great festival began initially from the energies of Black
immigrants from the Caribbean, where the Carnival traditions are very strong,
and from people living locally who wanted to bring together the people of Notting
Hill, most of whom as immigrants, were facing racism, poor housing conditions
and lack of working opportunities.
In the 60s, local social workers have
decided to invite a steel band to take part in a street festival in Notting Hill.
Local people went onto the street in celebration singing and dancing. For the
first time Black people could express themselves freely on the streets. Since
1964 the Notting Hill Carnival has grown from a minor celebration to become the
biggest street carnival in Europe.
This year more than 500,000 all raises,
age and social groups took part in the Notting Hill Carnival. The festival traditionally
started on last Sunday of August (25th of August) with competition for the young
to show their talents and the grand costumes of the various bands then was time
for the musical root of the Notting Hill Carnival, calypso, is a form of social
commentary, where all the bands, floats and 
masquerades
show what the carnival is all about. Carnival finished lat on Monday (26th of
August.) Organisers said that more than 50,000 performers were involved into this
event.
It was a wonderful event, the music was fabulous, and everybody
was having a lot of fun watching all the colourful parade and dancing to the hot
rhythms. Even the famous English weather was in a great carnival mood. It wasn't
raining; it was quite warm and sunny.
The Notting Hill Carnival is the
world's second largest street party, after the Rio Carnival held in Brazil and
it's really worth to be there!
(Published: 10.09.2008.)
