Press Release

IT'S PARTY TIME - CARIBBEAN STYLE
DARRAN SIMON AND JACQUELINE CHARLES, dsimon@herald.com
October 7, 2005

Visitors crowded into Ruby Allison Limere's small kitchen past midnight Thursday sharing space with mannequins and sewing machines.They watched as she sat at a table wrapping a piece of black and white sequined fabric over a mold in the shape of a head. The creation would be transformed into a stunning headpiece for the performers in her masquerade band, the Major Players.
In Limere's living room, elaborated finished headpieces with red feathers hung on a wire stretched from wall to wall.Her masquerade band is one of more than 50 that will be outfitted in glittery costumes accompanied by steel-pan drums and other instruments who will perform at dozens of parties - public and private - around Miami-Dade and Broward through the weekend.HOT PARTIESThe more spectacular the costume, the hotter the party.Miami-Dade and Broward are expected to draw thousands of revelers from around the country and the Caribbean for the two separate, distinct - if only by geography - annual carnivals this weekend.Party planners have been stitching and gluing feathers, flowers and rhinestones on costumes at masquerade camps. There, they work in shifts, way past midnight as the carnival nears.``When the carnival is close, we go round the clock,'' said Limere, 48, of Miami, who took a moment to catch her breath in a chair close to a sewing machine, where a moment earlier someone had pounded thread into a purple bustier.``We are not resting at all until we finish.''Sophia Rochester flew in from New York Wednesday night to attend the Broward Caribbean Carnival at Pompano Beach Racetrack, which takes place Sunday. She headed from the airport to Limere's house to pick out her costume - a silver and white lace outfit with black top and wire braids representing musical notes named All that Jazz.The piece became a tribute to the Hurricane Katrina victims in New Orleans.After the Broward parade, each band will step on stage, dance to soca music and show off their ornate, elaborate hand-made costumes.Judges will give honors to the top band and crown a king and queen of the band.Last year, Broward organizers say the third annual fete attracted 30,000 people to Fort Lauderdale's Lockhart Stadium.With a new board, new leadership, more bands and a new location, organizers expect 40,000 to 50,000 people this year, said Larson Phipps, president of the Broward Caribbean Carnival, the nonprofit organizing the carnival.``It will be a day of fun, a day of color, splendor, experiencing different foods, different music from the Caribbean, all blended to show what the Caribbean has to offer,'' Phipps said.Performers include the Mighty Sparrow and Byron Lee and the Dragonaires.HOPING TO PLEASE``I am going to sing something to please the audience, that's for sure,'' said Sparrow, 70. He and Calypso Rose are among the parade's grand marshals.Some events start today and run through Monday. The Miami Carnival - the granddaddy, in its 21st year - is expected to exceed the more than the 65,000 partygoers it attracted last year in Miami, organizers said.The carnival, a showcase for colorful masqueraders and bands, will add a little something special this year: fireworks at Bicentennial Park, said Selman Lewis, the founder and chief organizer.``We think this year's carnival will do extremely well and it will surpass last year's numbers,'' Lewis said.Artists like Kevin Lyttle and Machel Montano will perform in Miami.Some artists and some partygoers will go to both carnivals.DOUBLE THE FUNIn past years, more than 100,000 swarmed to South Florida when there was only one carnival in Miami. Recent riffs between organizers, bandleaders and the Caribbean community, led to a split and the Broward Caribbean Carnival was born.``Right now with two carnivals, it's splitting the people,'' said Michael Lee Pack, owner of a Brooklyn travel agency who has booked packages for more than 300 visitors.Limere's band had performed in the Miami Carnival for 10 years. They recently switched to the Broward Caribbean Carnival.``I figured I had paid my dues to Miami,'' said the Trinidad native. ``We're just spreading the culture.''Whether the party is in Broward or Miami-Dade, the secret to surving carnival is simple: Sleep during the day and party all night, from sun-down to sun-up.