Chester Francis-Jackson, Contributor
Guests have a whale of a time on the dance floor at Yardi Gras party held at Carlos Cafe to mark the owner's birthday. - WINSTON SILL/FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER
IT USED to be that if one wanted to enjoy a party with lots of attitude and flavour, costumed and all, then one had to head out to one of the more established resorts on the north coast, where fabulous entertainment packages was always par for the course.
There also was a time when Kingston was the hub of all things fancy and fancy parties, night clubs with some sin-sational entertainment packages, costumed and themed events, the order of the day. But it seems to have become a rarity in more recent years, with the welcomed exception being the Carlos MaxBrown owned and operated Carlos Café, over there on Belmont Road, in the heart of the city's entertainment mecca, in New Kingston.
HOT NUMBER
Now in its 17th year the celebrated night spot and eatery, made famous for its hot entertainment offerings, was the scene of yet another fabulous do recently. To celebrate his 45th birthday, the enterprising Carlos MaxBrown hosted a birthday celebration that was not only in your face different, it was one hot number and then some!
Dubbed 'Yardi Gras', a direct take-off of and a celebration of the cultural traditions of the internationally celebrated New Orleans mardi gras, Carlos MaxBrown's themed celebrations was just what the social doctor had ordered!
My dears, in a city growing more and more jaded and preoccupied with surviving rather than stop to smell the roses along the way, the birthday celebrations was just that - a celebration of life and all that, and it made for one hot outing!
My daahlings, dancing girls, one hot band playing even hotter music, and some hot people in the house and a-rearing to get their groove on, and y'all know we are talking hot like that and dropping it like stars!
Dovecakes, it was a hot number of a night and all the way!
Sweet-things, you've all heard the expression 'money is not a concern', well Carlos MaxBrown spared no expense in seeing to it that he achieved goal. And so, to achieve this, the playboy turned businessman had all the requisite accoutrements to spice up the affair and so had tonnes of costumes flown in from New Orleans for the event.
My darlings, boas, feathers, masks, trinkets, party medallions and beads - were there for the donning as guests arrived at the the venue to party with the dapper party giver, and children, party they did!
GROOVY SITUATION
Now, it seems that MaxBrown and his party planners completely underestimated the passion and hunger of city revellers for a party of that nature. Well pumpkins, while there were a few well-wishers and party people on hand for the prescribed hours, for the most part the majority of revellers descended on the Belmont Road location way after 10:00 p.m. and armed with partying intentions, ignored the supposed conventions, and really got a new groove going.
Black Zebra band, with its mix of new-age fusion, funk, rock and reggae, created a cool dancing groove for guests; DJ (Krazy) Kris, took the vibe to a higher level with some def tunes that had even the more jaded of those present not only shaking a symbolic leg, but partying up a glow and then some.
LATIN-FLAVOURED TUNES
Mind you, not that anyone needed any prodding to indulge the dancing senses as what the music might have failed to accomplish on its own, the sight of some scantily-clad dancing girls gyrating to the pop-aria of the moment as well as some Latin-flavoured tunes, only added to the already steaming
cauldron.
Fun and games included dinners, complimentary passes for the Quad and Asylum hotspots, as well as a number of gift baskets, some men were ready do don ladies stilettos and do the walk; few ladies were prepared to expose their thongs; and one guest showed no compunction in moving around and gathering the beads of other guests in order to collect one of the many prizes.
Then add to this milieu of fabulous madness a touch of 'obeah' as a psychic/card reader was part and parcel of the whole theme.
Honeychiles, it was all that, and then some!
And then there were the guests! Pumpkins, oh my word, the night belonged to the hot set, as Kingston's reigning hot numbers were all out and vibing. Among those out were: Mom, Karlene MaxBrown, his brother Raul MaxBrown who jetted in from Florida, for the occasion, and his dee-vinely gorgeous sister Sophia MaxBrown; celebrated playwright, actor and author, Trevor Rhone; security conglomateur Kenny Benjamin; Guerney Beckford; Pulse's Kingsley Cooper; Julie Sale-Charlton, who jetted in from Toronto; Harold Brady; Yogi and Clare Fernandez; Ribbie Chung; Anthony and Angeline Harris, and their lovely daughter Christelle Harris; Janet Farrow; Alex Issa; Tsahai Phillips; Rohan Marley; Supt. Renato Adams; Spuggie; Maylynne Walton; Karl O'Brien; the fabulous Mitzi Pratt; Danny Champagnie; Ravi Daswani, motored in from Ocho Rios; Monica Robinson; Mark Croskery; Eugene Folkes; Bernadette Wong; Matthew Sale; multi-talented musician Paul Kastic; Toni Dilworth; Andrew McIntyre; Godfrey Kawass; Julie Rambally; Jeffery Myrie; Kirk Christian; Bruce Chen; Mr. and Mrs. Everett Fenton; Rosario Sanchez; Sean Lyn; Robert Armstrong; plus several scores more.
