The carnival weekend, running over two days, is dominated by the carnival parade, 40 sound systems and BBQs serving up charred delights. The two day event runs over Sunday – ‘Family Day’- and Monday, a more adult affair, although the fun happens throughout both. As always the parade is a fiesta of colour and dancing. Sound systems old and new  to look out for this year include:

• The Flavour Magazine soundstage – featuring tunes from the late great Bob Marley and special guest performers (Westbourne Park station –  Tavistock Road and junction with Lemington Spa Villas) 
• KCC and the Rocking Crew – for the latest US house offerings (Wornington Rd) 
• Channel One for some deep rockers reggae (Junction of Westbourne Park Rd and Leamington Villas Rd) 
• Gaz’s Rockin Blues (a stalwart since the 70s) for ska, rock and punk (Outside 103 Talbot Rd)
• Sancho Panza if you fancy funky house and disco (Corner of Kensal Rd and Alderson St) 
• The Fun Bunch – in honour of the late DJ Swing, expect some quality R&B, hip-hop, boogie and garage (Junction of Talbot Rd and Sutherland Place)
• Norman Jay’s Good Times – It returns this year, promising exactly what it says on the tin (West Row off Kensal Road) 
• Latin Rave Street Jam – always fun to get those salsa moves down with random strangers! (Outside 318 Portobello Rd) (Full list of Soundsystems can be found here…)

Buy food from the family BBQ at the side of the road and beers from anyone passing with a shopping trolley full. Although the largest street party in Europe, people have worked hard to keep carnival a local, community affair – so let’s try and keep it that way. (Words: Laura Thornley)

Check out our photogallery of Notting Hill Carnival 2011, just here…

Carnival Tips

Here’s a few tips to ensure you have a wonderful and safe time if you’re heading to the carnival over the Bank Holiday:

1)  Travel light – it gets extremely crowded along the various roads at carnival and it’s easy for pickpockets to have a field day.  Keep bags zipped up and as close to your body as possible; avoid backpacks.

2)  Carry cash – it’s rare to find a cash machine (or anyone who’ll take cards!) so it’s best to be prepared.

3)  Wear comfortable shoes – you WILL do alot of walking.

4)  Bring your own snacks and drinks –  there’s no rule that says you can’t ;-)

5)  Expect to pay up to £2 to use a toilet.

6) Carry tissues and spare loo roll as it’s likely most places will run out quickly.

7)  Catch the procession if you can, then find a decent soundsystem and spend the day there (this year we recommend King Tubby, Latin Rave Street Jam and Music is Sound-system); as mentioned, it gets ridiculously crowded (especially along the procession route), so once you’ve got your snaps of costumed revellers, chill out at one of the many soundsystems – click here to see a map of where you can find them.

8)  Watch what you eat.  You’ll pay up to a tenner for a meal and a drink (but snacks like donuts and ‘festivals’ (fried dumplings) aren’t really marked up and can be a good filler if you don’t want to spend £20 on lunch and dinner throughout the day). Also, if you’re going for jerk chicken, make sure it’s cooked thoroughly.

9) Head to Ladbroke Grove to catch the “real” carnival. Tourists rarely make it beyond the Westway, but if you do, expect to experience a more community-vibe on the route to Kensal Road (and cheaper jerk chicken!).

10) Don’t forget your whistle or horn.  You can buy them at the carnival, but it’ll cost you plenty.

11) Get to Westbourne Park station earlier than later when you’re leaving.   Unfortunately, this is the station near the “backend” of the carnival – but there’s a terrible bottleneck which is being manned by police and it’ll take you ages to get through.  If you’re leaving late, it’s worth walking back to Notting Hill Gate/Ladbroke Grove.

If you have any more tips, feel free to share them via Twitter or on our Facebook page – otherwise, have a good one! 

For more info, visit www.thenottinghillcarnival.com

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So one of the last fests worth checking out this summer is Mela – a celebration of South Asian culture combining traditional artists and up and coming talent with a line-up of classical music, British Asian urban artists, dance, comedy and cabaret, Asian-influenced street theatre, circus performances and more.

Now celebrating its 10th anniversary, Mela  promises to be better than ever with its vibrant carnival winding its way through the park led by show stopping sculptures and featuring the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Bollywood Brass Band and BBC Asian network DJs – and with great weather expected this Sunday, it looks like this is a definite for this weekend’s to-do list!

Mela takes place on Sunday, August 19th at Gunnersbury Park from 1pm- 9pm. For more info, visit www.londonmela.org

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But perhaps you couldn’t afford the plane ticket this time round.

That’s ok. It’s a little known secret that every year, Latin America’s penchant for flamboyant festivity arrives to London in the form of the Carnaval Del Pueblo. Renamed Latino Festival this year (following the closure of its previous venue London Pleasure Garden), it will now be taking place at The Coronet Theater in Elephant & Castle on August 18th.

The event has been a feature of London cultural life for over a decade, featuring samba, merengue and capoeira rhythms, as well as music and dance from Brazil, Mexico, Cuba, Ecuador and the Oru Carnaval in Bolivia. Not to mention dazzlingly colourful costumes and dance lessons. Though smaller than unusual, Saturday’s event  will include a colourful programme of performances to keep the Carnaval Del Pueblo legacy going strong for another year, running all day from 12-8pm. ‘Que legal!’ (How nice.)

Entry is £3, but for more info visit www.carnavaldelpueblo.com

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Set on providing an extravagant end to the summer – and start to the Autumn season – the length between Westminster Bridge and Tower Bridge will play host to a variety of music, dance, food and art with over half a million people expected to flock to the City’s centre.

A particular highlight includes The Night Procession; carnival performers light up the river with lanterns, illuminated floats and dramatic fluorescent costumes, while giant horse constructions from Menorca are expected to head the parade of 2,000 energetic participants.

Opportunities to view exclusive street art and installations are also dotted along the river, as well as a chance to watch the world premiere of short documentary drama Southbank Unseen at the magnificent Cycle-In cinema, where festival visitors will be expected to hook their bicycle on a generator to power the performance.

Of course, the lively atmosphere will be a perfect chance to capture dynamic images and the festival is offering free photo masterclasses to help make the most of the stunning scenery, with a chance to enter a photo competition to win an SLR camera.

To end the event on a high (and use those newfound photographic skills), there will be a firework display of mind-blowing visuals, so expect nothing less than a truly memorable weekend.  (Words: Monique Todd)

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By 10am, crowds were packing out Tube stations like Notting Hill Gate to make their way to Children’s Day, which is known for being the more family-friendly alternative to the main event on Bank Holiday Monday.

Still, the Sunday was fantastic.  Paint and powdered-covered festivalgoers  – who’d took part  in the honoured “J’ouvert” tradition in the morning  – sauntered around the various roads, threatening to smear up anyone in sight, while adults and kids had their pick of some of the best spots to simply hang about for most of the day.  TCé’s highlights were Mau Mau Bar at 265 Portabello Road, which was constantly surrounded by a lively crowd of revellers getting down to dancehall, while further up outside 318, you had the chance to pair up with a willing partner  to dance salsa at the Latin Rave Street Jam soundsystem.

[stextbox id=”custom”] Check out our Notting Hill Carnival photo gallery HERE [/stextbox]

It was also great to see Oxford Street’s busking star Jo Bucket and friend putting on an outstanding drumming performance – purely with paint buckets – under the Westway, despite competition from another drumming collective merely metres away.

As previously announced, the infamous Rampage soundsystem was notably absent for the first time in 17 years, along with Norman Jay’s Good Times street party, which was a shame – but thankfully, the legendary King Tubby didn’t disappoint as his infectious set of reggae, dancehall and bashment on Clydesdale Road continued to represent, two decades on.

Food was plentiful and varied as usual – but  prices for a jerk chicken meal were steepish at £7 (and anything cheaper came off dodgy to say the least). However’s Levi Root’s “Rasta-raunt” on Westbourne Park Road  looked reputable – further sealed by the fact the good man himself was even around, taking pictures with fans.  (Advice: there’s a series of food stalls along Westbourne Park Road which seem better than the closer Portabello Road options in terms of price and quality of food – it’s worth the walk!) 

The weather was temperamental with regular rainfall forcing festivalgoers to temporarily seek cover, and the procession finished earlier than usual. But Monday’s event is expected to be dry and warm – and of course, 10 times livelier!

If you’re attending carnival today, share your thoughts, pictures or videos  @culturalexpose  on Twitter or info@theculturalexpose.co.uk. Look out for our carnival tips which we’ll be tweeting throughout the day. 

The post What we’ve been up to…Notting Hill Carnival 2011 (Day 1) appeared first on The Cultural Exposé.