Barbados has been awash with parties and other activities over the past week in the run-up to the culmination of the annual Crop Over Festival, which climaxes tomorrow with the Grand Kadooment Day parade through the streets and ending at the National Stadium in St Michael.

One of the first warm-up fetes this week was Fyah D Wuk, an after-work cooler party held at the Divi Southwinds Beach Resort in St Lawrence Gap on Wednesday. Being one of the early events, Fyah D Wuk took some time in generating heat, but once it got going, the blaze could be felt all around the venue — a grassy green located adjacent to the prominent hotel.

The event attracted a mixed bag in terms of patrons. However, what was clear is that a slightly older demographic came out. As a result, some of the older soca songs, including Workie Workie by Jamaica’s Bryon Lee and the Dragonnaires went over well. However, the high point came with the performances Lil Rick, Mole, and Lead Pipe.

The songs by three three acts, in particular, as well as their live performances have been a recurring motif at most of the major events across Barbados this season. Sometime by Lead Pipe, Mole’s Breathe, and It Ain’t Me by Lil Rick have been dominating the playlists throughout.

This was clear at the second fete, the Jamaica Observer visited this past week. Lifted, held in Bushy Park in St Phillip, located at the easternmost end of the island, attracted a massive turnout, including a number of Jamaicans.

For Kareece Matthis from Kingston, each year she tries to visit another country to coincide with her August 5 birthday.

“I just decided to come here this time and enjoy Barbados and Crop Over for my birthday, and it has been great so far.”

For Neil Bennett, Barbados and Crop Over is something he and his friends have always wanted to do.

“It’s my first time in Barbados. It’s a group of us who just decided to come down. We’ve always been wanting to do it and we finally got the opportunity and here we are. So far we’ve been to two parties and it’s been pretty good, enjoyable, and just a great vibe,” he told the Observer.

In addition to performances by staples Lead Pipe and Mole, the audience at Lifted was also treated to an energetic performance by Vincentian soca act Skinny Fabulous. As well as unleashing his favourites on the soca masses, he dropped a line from Mavado’s Real McKoy injecting that dose of dancehall into the event and the audience loved it.

This must have given selector Kevin Crown the idea to drop a string of Jamaican dancehall selections during a brief intermission; Beenie Man’s Girls Dem Sugar; Everyone Falls in Love by Tanto Metro and Devonte; Yeah Yeah Yeah from Aidonia, Flairy from Ding Dong and, of course, Toast by Koffee all lit up the event.

Speaking with the Jamaica Observer Skinny Fabulous shared with Jamaican act he would like to collaborate with.

“Barbados is always great for me. I have so many experiences and memories here. As for Jamaican music I am listening to everybody right now, but I like Aidonia, Chronic Law and the 6ixx and obviously Kartel. It is such a wide spread of the music…I just like the genre in general. If I could I would record with Bounty Killer, just a great artiste who I grew up on.”

The high level carnival energy from Thursday’s Lifted carried over into Friday morning’s breakfast party Mimosa held at Codrington Stables in St Michael in the south-west of the country.

Not even the searing morning sun could stop socaphiles from ‘wuk up’ to the sounds of their favourite selectors and music for the season. The food and drink-inclusive event with its US$135 price tag brought out a throng of party goers who are working to build the tempo going into Monday’s street parade.