AFTER a two-year absence, Maraval's most popular Carnival fete returned in epic style as hundreds of patrons drank, sang and danced the night away in the Soka in Moka all-inclusive fete at St Andrew's Golf Course on Sunday night.
This was the first time the fete was held at a venue outside the Trinity College grounds.
Soka in Moka is one of the first events of the Carnival season and has traditionally been used by artistes to gauge crowd response to new songs.
From as early as 4 pm, patrons poured into the venue eager to get their Carnival pump going.
The crowd generally consisted of older patrons who were long-time supporters, but several new patrons were also present.
While it was not the venue many long-time attendees were used to, the golf course setting created a more sophisticated atmosphere as partiers socialised in small groups poolside or took photos at several banners and signs across the venue.
[caption id="attachment_993942" align="alignnone" width="971"] Patrons also came out in their finest at the Soca in Moka all-inclusive fete. Photo by Angelo Marcelle[/caption]
With multiple tents offering drinks and different dishes, from Jamaican jerk chicken to Chinese and Indian cuisine, patrons were never far away from sustenance or grog.
As the afternoon rolled on, the relaxed, laid back atmosphere of the event gradually increased in pace with the first performance by Raymond Ramnarine and Dil-e-Nadan.
By 7 pm, the party was in full swing as performances from College Boy Jesse brought out the energy of patrons who shed their initial reservations and took to the dance floor.
During his performance Jesse, real name Jesse Stewart paid tribute to Blaxx, who died last year, with several cover versions of his songs.
Speaking with Newsday, organiser of the event and former vice principal of Trinity College Janice Richards said she was generally pleased with the turnout and the crowd response.
"It (the turnout) was even better than we expected.
"We wanted to try something different as we called it, the return, it worked, but we had some challenges.
"We didn't know what to expect we knew it would be a big Carnival but with this pandemic one never knows, we still don't know because some of our faithful patrons weren't too keen on coming out as we're still in a pandemic with the large crowds without masks and so on, but all in all it wasn't bad."
[caption id="attachment_993938" align="alignnone" width="1024"] GOOD TIMES: Patrons enjoy themseles at the Soca in Moka all-inclusive fete on Sunday night. Photo by Angelo Marcelle[/caption]
Richards said while she did not expect the food to finish as quickly as it did, the event was still a success.
Commenting on the tributes to Blaxx, who was a regular at this fete, Richards said while his passing was sad, she was pleased his legacy was still honoured by his fellow performers.
Chutney soca artistes GI performed his new song 10 wheeler with Viking Ding Dong to the delight of patrons who sang the lyrics word for word.
GI, whose real name
