Publications

The best parties happening during the Carnival weekend from Friday 26 August to Monday 29 August 2011.

Soon to be completed......

Friday 19th August 2011
9pm to 2:30am
Main Stage Festival Opening Concert
Special Guest Maxi Priest | Kes The Band | Lil Rick | Krosfyah | Tallpree | Roy Cape | Nikisha | Scrappy | Nikisha

- £25 General Admission - 9pm - 2:30am
Concessions - 50% off to Senior Citizens | £2 Off to Youths under 19
 

- £25 General Admission - 1pm - 9pm
Concessions - Kids Under 12 FREE | 50% off to Senior Citizens | £10 Off to Youths under 19
 

Steelband Panorama  ****

· Date: Saturday 27th August 2011 (To be Confirmed)
· Event: The Notting Hill Carnival Steelbands Panorama
· Venue: Hornimans Park, Kensal Road, London W10
· Time: 6.00pm onwards , Free

Panorama, now back at Hornimans Park for the second year, is where you can see Britain’s leading steelbands compete for the title of The Notting Hill Carnival Champions of Steel. The evening starts at around 6.00pm at Hornimans Park and is a spectacle of light and sound as bands play tunes ranging from classical music to the latest Calypso rhythms.

This year nine bands will be taking part with their Panorama competition tunes.

Date: Sunday 28th August, 2011
· Event:  Notting Hill Carnival - J'ouvert
· Venue: Starts junction Kensal Rd and Ladbroke Grove
· Time: 6.00 am

J’ouvert (pronounced "Jou-vay”) is the official opening of Carnival! It takes place around 6 a.m. on Carnival Sunday morning in Notting Hill and is an opening ritual enacted to the accompaniment of mud, oil, pitchforks and pointed tails in which the first revellers hit the streets jumping, dancing, and shouting – abetted, it must be admitted, by alcohol, but fueled more by the exhilaration of the occasion! In essence it is the celebration of the darker side of human life! This early "Mas" (a contraction of the French "jour ouvert", or "a new day"), is for the true die-hard player! Most revelers usually join sections in which hundreds of people party together!

Children's Carnival

· Date: Sunday 28th August, 2011
· Event:  Notting Hill Carnival - Children’s Day
· Venue: Notting Hill
· Time: 12:00 noon - 7:00pm

Sunday sees a range of beautiful costumes worn by children from 5 years upwards. Children will also form bands playing the latest Calypso rhythms and other musical compositions on the Steel Pans, one of the more traditional sounds of Carnival. Other attractions include Static and ‘on the move’ Sound Systems, two live stages and various food stalls from around the World.

Visitors attending Carnival on the Sunday will find it easier to move between the various aspects of the event due to less crowd congestion. It is also worth getting to the Carnival early to see the costumes in their full glory.

Adults Carnival

· Date: Monday 29th August, 2011
· Event:  Notting Hill Carnival - Adult’s Day
· Venue: Notting Hill
· Time: 12:00 noon - 7:00pm

Carnival Monday sees the largest number of visitors to any European event. Over 1.5 million participants and visitors congregate in a four square mile area of West London.

Visitors are attracted to the vibrancy, colour and sounds of the event. But, many will not be aware of the historic meaning of the costumes on display for example one of London’s Mas bands, South Connections, are this year playing their ‘Canboulay’ Mas - the costume design originates from Trinidad and reflects; out of the fire, come dance of the cloth.
Around the Carnival route, 15 of Britian’s leading Steel bands will be joining the 30 Mas bands. Soca on the Move Sound Systems (a mixture of Soul and Calypso) will also join the parade.