KINGSTON, Jamaica — Bacchanal Jamaica’s 2016 season kicks off tonight at the Mas Camp in St Andrew with Bacchanal New Year — Fete and Band Launch.

“Carnival is now firmly entrenched in the local entertainment scene and in typical Jamaican style, we have given it our own flavour to make it a truly Jamaican experience. We at Bacchanal Jamaica are proud of the contribution we have made over the past number of years to provide another important channel for creativity and cultural expression,” said Michael Ammar Jr, a Bacchanal Jamaica director.

In addition to tonight’s costume parade, DJs Back2Basics, Richie Ras and DJ Sanjay will give soca fans a taste of what they will get throughout February 12 to April 3.

“We are very pleased that this New Year’s party is now one of the major events of the season attracting not only traditional revelers, but a large band of new party goers eager to experience the fun of the carnival experience.  As usual, it will be the first peek at the exciting costumes that we will have this year. We have a range of creative designs including the frontline and backline costumes that have become quite popular and the addition of a few Super Frontline costumes. There will also be T shirts and leisure wear for the more conservative. We expect the costumes to sell out fast, so we urge all who intend to play Mas to secure their costumes early,” explained Bacchanal Jamaica director, Charmaine Franklin.

Among the artistes scheduled for Bacchanal Fridays are soca stars Destra and her Bakanal Band, Bunji Garlin, Fayann Lyons and the Asylum  Band, Kes the band.

Brian Bonitto