Icom's Blog – November 2017 Archive (23)

Curaçao's Carnival is one of the largest and longest-lasting Carnival spectacles of the Caribbean and one of the best times to visit the island.

Carnival began as a Catholic rite to represent the Christian practice of “Carne Levale,” or giving up meat for Lent. In the 19th century, Curaçao continued the tradition by organizing masquerade parties and marches in private clubs. It wasn’t until 1969 that Curaçao…

The American pair of David Heron and Taylor Abbott dominated the Men’s 1.5K and 5K swims while American Pan Am Medalist Chelsea Colwill was in a league of her own in the 1.5K and 10K races and US Olympic medallist Ashley Whitney won the 5K at the 6th Barbados Open Water Festival last weekend. Trinidadians Nikoli Blackman and Savannah Chee-Wah represented their country well with winning swims in the 3.3K and Canadian Taylor Parker, repeated his win in the…

After purchasing a costume to jump in one of the popular bands and attending all the pre-carnival fetes like J'Ouvert and the Bacchanal series, one may find their personal finances have dwindled or receive a credit card statement requiring hours of overtime to pay off at the end of the soca season.

The standard price range to join a band being US$600-US$700, in addition to other expenses (together with the monthly…

The electric fete is almost here.

The inaugural electronic dance music festival in the Caribbean debuts in Barbados this spring, and the lineup is over a dozen artists. The four-day Vujaday Music Festival is set for April 4–8, 2018, and will be the first ever music event of its kind for the region, helping to bring life to the growing scene of electronic music in the islands.…

The series is the latest iteration of Bacardí’s Sound of Rum creative campaign, which aims to link the brand’s island routes to modern music.

The Sound of Rum documentary stems from Bacardi's partnership…

Calabar has through the years earned a place as one of the hottest tourist spots in Nigeria and for good reason.

From its rich cuisine to warm, hospitable people and not forgetting the breathtaking Obudu Mountain Resort, there are several reasons why Cross River comes…

It’s International Men’s Day!

Celebrated in almost 60 countries around the globe, International Men’s Day is backed by UNESCO, and is observed around the world on November 19, every year. The celebration shares a 48-hour partnership with Universal Children’s Day marked on November 20th, which is endorsed by the United Nations.

The…

On her latest release, Sokah, Nailah Blackman is giving more than a passing nod to her roots.

At a time when soca music has become the sound of the Caribbean and is filtering into the music of global artists such as Drake, the granddaughter of the late Ras Shorty I, creator of soca music, the 19-year-old is reminding everyone where it all began.…

The perfect Caribbean vacation often includes at least one lobster meal featuring some of the freshest, tastiest lobster in the world.

But what if you could travel somewhere where lobster is on every menu, at every restaurant, all day long?

This is Anegada, the beach-filled outpost in the British Virgin Islands that’s making a quick rebound from Hurricane Irma — and playing…

The majority of Caribbean destinations were out in full force at the recently held World Travel Market in London. World Travel Market is the leading global event for the travel industry, and organizers brought together about 5,000 exhibiting destinations, technology, and private sector companies to find and network with 51,000 travel professionals, key industry buyers, journalists, digital influencers, students and Tourism Ministers. So definitely an…

After the devastating hurricanes that tore through parts of the Caribbean, the island is back on it’s feet and eager to welcome visitors. The 40 islands that make up Turks and Caicos (8 are inhabited) are known for their incredible award-winning beaches and diving, crystal clear water, the only conch farm in the word, and surplus of world-class resorts.

This weekend marked the 7th…

A legend is now part of the big show.

Reggae legend Beres Hammond is officially in the lineup of the star-studded Caribbean Love Now Jamathon set for Nov. 22 in Kingston, Jamaica. The artist will be joining more than 30 other reggae, dancehall, and soca performers for the benefit concert. With his inclusion to the show, organizers say his popularity will help garner more attention for the show and their mission, said…

Yvonne Clarke has been stripped of her Miss TT/Universe title. 

In a surprising move on Tuesday morning, the Miss Universe franchise holder in the twin-island Republic, Jenny Douglas, issued a statement advising that Clarke has been disqualified. 

"The Miss Universe T&T committee has voted unanimously to disqualify MissYvonne Clarke from representing Trinidad and…

Just four months before the Merry Monarch parades the streets for Carnival 2018, the National Carnival Commission (NCC) is without a board. As of Wednesday, the term of the last board came to an end.

Headed by Kenny DeSilva, that board has been at constant loggerheads with the three Carnival interest groups. Under an act of Parliament (No 9 of 1991) the NCC is mandated to make…

T&T Carnival literally runs on diesel fuel and, with the increase in diesel, from $2.30 per litre to $3.41, Carnival 2018 could certainly be negatively affected. Bandleaders, steelbands, promoters all rely on the transportation of instruments, equipment and music, with significant reliance on dieselfuelled cabs that carry trailers. For some mas bands, costumes have already been fixed so it is now too late to pass on any increased cost of fuel to the…

Grenada's former Minister for Culture Brenda Hood has said that the government is “very proud of the Pure Grenada Music Festival” as they announce their funding for the 2018 edition.

An investment of $300,000 has been agreed for next year, $100,000 more than the government invested in this year’s festival.

The proposal for…

Machel Montano, Tasha P and Destra sharing the stage.

Artistes from around the Caribbean region joined together this past weekend to lend their voices and talents to the Carib­bean Strong ini­tiative and the two concerts in Trinidad and Antigua.

The Caribbean Strong initiative was the brainchild of event promoter/radio network…

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The 2017 Caribbean Rum & Beer Festival is throwing its support behind the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO)’s efforts to help Caribbean families and countries recover and rebuild after the monstrous hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated some member destinations.

The festival, an authentic Caribbean event, will be raising monies for the CTO Hurricane Relief Fund,…

In Trinidad for just over a year, DJ Mika Raguaa (Dominika Tux) has been making quite a name for herself, especially for her mixtape productions and recent weekend gigs at the popular Club 63 on Ariapita Avenue. Though born in Poland, Raguaa has familiarised with not just the music but the vibe and lifestyle of T&T and Caribbean people.

Having mastered reggae, dancehall, calypso and soca genres, Raguaa has…