THE fourth in the weekly Carnival Pon Di Road series, promoted by Digicel in conjunction with Appleton Special, turned up the heat in the cool climes of Mandeville in Manchester, last Friday night. Despite persistent showers, patrons armed with umbrellas forgot their troubles and danced away to a wide genre of selections. Popular disc jock Kurt Riley turned up the heat as he led revellers down memory lane.

The latest soca hits including Ricardo Drue’s Vagabond, Ducking by Fadda Fox, Lucy by Destra and Like a Boss by Machel Montano were well received. However, old standards including Moving to the Left by Peter C. Lewis, Footsteps by Xtatic, and Carnival by Destra Garcia, rang out amid loud cheers. Radio jock Tricia ‘ZJ Sparks’ Spence, who served as emcee, engaged the crowd with giveaways and various competitions which saw persons winning Appleton Special gifts and Digicel credit.

A Danish national, who gave his name as Daniel, said it was his first time attending a carnival event. He was engaged in one of the dance competitions on stage. “I’ve been here in Jamaica visiting friends and we decided to come and see what this carnival is all about. It’s been a lot of fun.

Jamaicans know how to put on a good party,” he told the Jamaica Observer. Shante from Porus in Manchester said the event united persons from all over Mandeville. “A lot of people come together during carnival and this is no exception. I have seen a lot of my friends here whom I haven’t seen in a while. It’s like a reunion and we are just having a great time. The Carnival ‘shot’… it tun up, way up and stay up,” she said. According to Danielia McLean, Digicel’s sponsorship executive: “We decided to end in Kingston to give Kingston what the rest of the island has been experiencing. We will be turning it up like a boss at Pandemonium scheduled for Hope Gardens with Machel Montano on April 9.”

“As you can see, Mandeville is not so cool after all. Everybody is just having fun,” she said. Commenting on the weekly series, she said the objectives have been met. “Objectives definitely have been achieved. The carnival experience has been well worth it.” A powder party, which saw patrons getting on bad in wild abandon, brought Carnival Pon Di Road in Mandeville to a pulsating climax. Carnival Pon Di Road series heads to Linstead in St Catherine on Friday.