Oh, how they love a good party in St. Maarten. Carnival, the annual festival that has more music, rhinestones and feathers than a Grammy Awards show, is now going on in St. Maarten. And, it’s going on and on and on. The island has been partying for two weeks already, and they are not done yet. But, almost. The festivities end today.
According to Carnival connoisseurs, St. Maarten has one of the best celebrations in the northeastern Caribbean. There are events day and night. A festival village is the hub, but parades fan out through the downtown of Phillipsburg. There are also beauty pageants, numerous heart-pumping concerts, lots of food and costume competitions. The latter is serious business.
After all, Carnival is THE biggest event of the year on St. Maarten, so it is no surprise that the fashions come out for the occasion. Front Street, the parade route, turns into a red carpet of sorts with revelers strutting the stuff of the Caribbean’s finest Carnival designers. There’s every color of the rainbow and then some, plenty of feathers, rhinestones, fringe, beads, netting and towering headdresses three feet high and three feet wide.
Planning what to wear next year begins nearly the day after Carnival ends this year. Creative minds get sketching, colors envisioned, fabrics ordered, and soon nimble fingers are sewing, beading and spangling for months.
And, that’s not all. There has to be make-up to go with the outfit. Revlon commissioned Sandra Hordatt, a top Carnival costume designed based in Trinidad, but who works throughout the Caribbean, to develop some Carnival make-up looks last year. Stunning, we think you’ll agree, but judge for yourself with these make-up pictures.
And, here’s something else we’ve learned. On Carnival Info, a website which tells you everything you didn’t even know you didn’t know about carnivals around the world, you can order a costume custom made for you.
And, now that you know the dress code, mark your calendar for April 2014. There’s a party going on.
Since Carnival comes at a very popular time of year for vacations, book a stay at Divi Little Bay Beach Resort well in advance. It’s never too soon to plan accommodations or party attire!
