Trinidad and Tobago Carnival returned after two years in 2023 and I had to be on the road again with The Lost Tribe! Here’s a recap and review of my overall experience with The Lost Tribe from registration to the road.
REGISTRATION
In February 2022, I opted to pre-register with The Lost Tribe prior to any launch, or even any official word that Carnival 2023 would be on. I had an amazing time in 2019, so I knew which band I wanted to play mas with again. In August 2022, my pre-registration status allowed me to have first choice in which section I wanted to play in. I chose the section TRUE designed by Atiba Borde. I loved the colors and the headpiece especially! The cost of the costume base was $1,103 USD and the addition of the large backpack was $360 USD. I was able to pay it off between August 2022 and January 2023 in incremental payments.
COSTUME COLLECTION
The costume collection schedule was released the week before Carnival and my section, TRUE, was supposed to collect on Carnival Friday. I planned my day around collecting my costume, which I was anxious because I had two events that day. The morning of Carnival Friday, I got an update that the costumes would not be ready until after 3pm, which was cutting it close for the time I would have had to make it to the event I had at 6pm. With this, I decided to ask someone to collect it for me, but then it turned out I could just collect it Saturday, which turned out to be the smoother option.
Apart from this one hiccup surrounding when to actually collect my costume, the collection experience was seamless. There was a waiting area (which I didn’t have to wait for more than 10 minutes). I was quickly guided to the room to pick up, where someone checked my costume and walked through all the things I needed to know on Carnival Monday and Tuesday. Overall, I really loved the experience collecting my costume. It really added to my excitement and I loved the curation Lost Tribe provided from their decoration to the superb customer service.
With the costume, you also received a goodie bag. This year’s goodie bag was a re-usable blue and orange duffel bag that I continue to use for my travels. We were also given a water bottle, a cup for the road, an orange bucket hat, a portable Bluetooth speaker, an umbrella, a fan, and snacks, among other smaller items
CARNIVAL MONDAY
Carnival Monday morning I got on the road to meet the band at 11:15am. The official meeting time was 10am. I wore a monokini designed by Rhion Romany. You can wear whatever you want on Monday, though it would not be provided by the band.
What I love about The Lost Tribe is that every year they have a color or a theme that the encourage masqueraders to wear on Monday. 2023 was the year of neon orange! We were a sea of orange on Monday morning parading the streets of Port-of-Spain.
The morning parade was on the chill side, with a few bouts of hypeness, but definitely good energy all around. The DJs were playing a good mix of new and old soca songs. We got to the Savannah around 1pm and crossed the stage to ‘ Come Home’ by Nailah Blackman and Skinny Fabulous around 1:30pm. This is something to note — always fill your drink before reaching the Savannah! The drink trucks will not be there for a refill until after and we did not leave the Savannah until after 2pm.
After we crossed the stage, we headed to the lunch stop at the park where we were greeted by so many different options for food, I was excited! I had the Royal Castle snack box. There was also Creole food and bake and shark, amongst some other options.
We continued the parade and I’ll be honest, for me the evening was a blur. It went so fast and I was having a great time. I loved the music on truck #3 especially. I ended my Carnival Monday by 7:30pm and headed home to rest up for the next day… pretty mas!
CARNIVAL TUESDAY
On Carnival Tuesday, I woke up at 1am for my makeup appointment. Hot tip: Don’t be like me. Get your appointment months or weeks in advance! I got my makeup done by Dinille Gonzalez MUA and I absolutely loved it. Spoiler alert — it stayed on all day!
I had the usual Carnival Tuesday jitters, with some hiccups in putting on my costume. I wish it came with some kind of guide but I was able to piece it together from some posts the designer made on their Instagram.
I got on the road at 8:20am, and I believe the official meeting time was 7am… yes I have a pattern here. The vibes began instantly. I met up with my friends and I was dancing and drinking rum at 8 o’clock in the morning. We also got breakfast!
Seeing everyone in the different sections looking radiant made me so happy. The craftsmanship that goes into these Lost Tribe costumes is spectacular.
Once we reached the Savannah, with the sun beating down, we crossed the stage again to ‘Come Home’ by Nailah Blackman and Skinny Fabulous. The energy was electric — I truly love crossing the stage… and we had a surprise waiting for us after! Lost Tribe had Nailah Blackman performing on the truck for us.
After the euphoria that was crossing the stage, we headed to Siegert Square for our lunch stop. We had similar options to Monday, plus lollies and ice-creams passing around. What I loved about this year’s lunch stop was that we had a live performance by Mical Teja and Freetown Collective that kept the energy up and moving. After we got back on the road, it was truly all a blur for me… in a good way! I had so much fun dancing and chipping down the road. Though, I was confused about the route because it felt different from what we were initially told, but I wasn’t too bothered.
We ended after sunset and I wanted to cry that it was all coming to an end. I felt an immense gratitude to being able to experience mas in my birthplace surrounded by so many different people.
Overall
I’m glad I chose The Lost Tribe again for Carnival 2023. From registration to the road, I had a positive experience. I love the mix of genders, ages, and ethnicities that play in Lost Tribe. If you’re interested in playing mas in Lost Tribe for 2024, check out their website. They’ve launched their theme ‘FLY’ and registration details are coming soon!