Megan Wilson, costumed as a giant spider, was the leader of Downtown Kingston Carnival's eight costumed groups at yesterday's road march. The revelry started at National Heroes' Circle, wound its way to Ocean Boulevard and ended at Inner-city Unity Lawn on Beeston Street. - Norman GrindleyTHE INAUGURAL staging of "Downtown Carnival" climaxed yesterday with a road march that drew thousands of people from their homes and business places with its fusion of colour, music and enthusiastic revellers.
Several streets downtown Kingston were blocked as the magnetic revelry drew a large crowd as it wound its way from National Heroes' Circle down to Ocean Boulevard on the downtown Kingston waterfront and then to Inner-city Unity Lawn at the corner of Beeston and King streets.
Downtown Carnival started at National Heroes' Park at midday with two music trucks thumping hardcore dancehall music. A smattering of hesitant music lovers lagged behind the costumed revellers. Scores of curious onlookers peeped over their fences and from their doors and windows as the trucks, the music and the followers wound their way through the streets and some of the inner-city communities.
When the trucks hit King Street and looped around St. William Grant Park, the crowd had swelled considerably, filling the streets and the sidewalks.
Soca music that serves as the foundation and the soundtrack of carnival uptown was loudly absent at Downtown Carnival. Dancehall music reigned. Megan Wilson, in the costume of a giant spider led the eight revel groups: "Bashment Girl", "Seaview Beauty", "Blue Diamond", "Flames", "Silverado", "Reggae Rhymes", "Hardcore" and the children's group, "Golden Revellers".
After three hours of hot dancehall and hip-hop music and a hot sunshine, the revellers had gyrated their way from King Street to Ocean Boulevard and into the UDC car park.
Mr. Oneil Smith, an organiser of the carnival, told The Gleaner he was satisfied with the Downtown Carnival and that it had got off to a good start with "much bigger" crowd support than he expected.
Commenting on the choice of music he said: "People believe Carnival is soca. Carnival is something people go to and have a good time. We mixed the music because most of these people like reggae music".
He said that Downtown Carnival will join Bacchanal Jamaica for its road march on Sunday, April 22.
The late-afternoon leg of the festivity was marred by the stabbing of a vendor on Beeston Street, at the gate of Inner-city Unity Lawn, the carnival's mas camp.
According to a man claiming to be an eye-witness, the vendor was "giving himself trouble" and was asked to desist by another man. An altercation developed and the vendor, Damion Tomlinson, 32, of Lincoln Road, Kingston 5, was stabbed in the chest. He was taken to the Kingston Public Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
