Lime like a Trini

If it's one event that pulls many Trinibagonians and tourists alike to the small sister isle of Tobago is the annual Great Fete Weekend and Carib Great Race in Heritage Park, Pigeon Point, Tobago. Usually the fete (known as the longest weekend in the word) last for 5 days, July 26 to 30, and involves a lot of vibes, alcohol, sun, sand and sea. (Only in this country we could party for five days like it's nothing!) The fetes are usually at night at Heritage Park and The Shade nightclub. Pack your comfy shoes and island wear as you will be in for exciting nights dancing to reggae and island pop and of course soca music.  During the day, attendees can relax at the beaches, soak up the sun or partake in tourist activities. Tobago is known for its laid back culture and glistening beaches so be sure to check them out during you stay! Take a look at what happened last year: If you're still in the party mood, why not stay for the annual Carib great rac

The Trinidad and Tobago Film festival is a robust accumulation of local and international short films and full length movies that appeal to all. Personally, I've been attending these festivals since our school at CAPE level suggested we view the screenings for the French and Spanish movies to help with our accents and fluency. To date, it's still an event I eagerly await and attend. The film festival has a strong presence at the University of the West Indies St. Augustine Campus as many aspiring local screenwriters and actors follow the festival closely in partnership with the Centre for Language Learning (CLL). The local films tackle many cultural issues, current and past issues that sough to shape the country we know today in addition to emerging issues that affect the diaspora.  The other foreign language films give the viewer a new perspective on cultures and issues worldwide. (They are accompanied by subtitles, so no worries). However, don't expect your us

Ting a ling a ling, school a bell ring! Popularized by dancehall artist Shabba Ranks in 1993 was a common song to hear during recess at primary school. (Mind you, if my mother only know I was listening to these kinds of songs when I was a a child, I woulda get a cut tail!) Most of these snacks still remain in tuck shops and school parlours and many have been discontinued and re-introduced throughout the years. Now we're not talking about local handmade snacks like Tamarind ball, Coconut fudge, Bene Ball (Tobago) and sugar cake, even though those were available in parlours as well. This post will focus on the sugary, chocolate covered, salted, preserves and ice cream that I remember saving my allowance to buy on a weekly basis. Let's start with my favourite:  Chocolate Digestive- a delicious wheatmeal biscuit covered in milk chocolate. If you all remember well the original packaging used to be white and brown before they switched to purple and only costed 50 cent

Hidden in the northern Blanchisseuse Road is the breathtaking Avocat Waterfall. Forming part of the Marianne River, the journey starts at the Spring Bridge and takes a 20 minute uphill ascent to the ridge and gradually descends to the river. The falls itself is roughly 50 feet high and cascades down into refreshing green pools where hikers can relax and cool off.    Upon returning there are two options; hike down the same trail or swim down the river for an exciting experience. Due to the naturally occurring rocks and water they form large basins to bathe in and huge protruding rocks to jump off of.  Along the way hikers can admire the flora and fauna that have remained relatively untouched since the area only got a paved main road in 1931. Prior to that, the only way to get to Blanchisseuse was via a ferry. While the road is a bit bumpy, it's not terrible to drive through and maxi taxi buses drive along the road with ease. The area itself remains quite sim

A lime, a party, a get together, a small brang or a big one.   Ah yes. Friday reach, man tired but ready to lime. By now you know, trinis love to lime. We love we belly too, so naturally we would only show up if there's either alcohol or food. Worse yet if it's a family lime, there's no restrictions on behaviour and portions! Last Saturday my friends and I met up just because we hadn't seen each other in a while. We all pitched in for drinks and food and set up a little area on the patio (yes, outside they say when the cold breeze hitting yuh, yuh does get sober). The menu for the night was curried chicken and dhalpuri (roti stuffed with ground seasoned split peas) and of course we had some snacks in between (I'll do another post on trini snacks, look out for this!). A designated bartender was chosen along with a DJ and the party start. As the evening passed, everyone starting giving accounts of their day or week chatting away like close friends

The June Discover Me artist of the month, Aaron Ifill took the bandstand in June for an energetic performance in MovieTowne's busy Fiesta Plaza. The plaza was packed to capacity despite getting there at a reasonable Trini time (one hour late of course). Lots of neighbouring restaurants offered us and other patrons seats inside but no one wanted to miss out on the live performances by Mr. Ifill.  He started with a couple of cover songs from the latest chart hits and by the first chorus the crowd was singing and dancing along to his hearty renditions of Bruno Mars and David Guetta. The crowd simmered down for the artist's original song "I'll let you" and according to Aaron himself, it's a song that everyone can connect with as it describes the rite of passage in every person's life.  I didn't get to record pieces of his original song due to the organizers giving me stern looks and asking me to put away my phone (I guess beca