Although Jamaica Carnival road march is more than a month away, Bacchanal Jamaica has sold out all their costumes.

“I don’t like to blow my own trumpet but I think Bacchanal has done a really good job for the last couple of years, and people that left us to try new bands, went, tried and they realised that the premium experience is with Bacchanal,” Michael Ammar Jr, co-director of Bacchanal Jamaica, told Jamaica Observer’s Splash.

Ammar Jr was speaking to the Observer at Bacchanal Fridays held at Park Place in New Kingston last Friday.

Ammar Jr said, traditionally, costumes are not usually sold out until mid-March. He said his band’s costumes are more affordable compared to the competition.

“Our T-shirt section is cheaper; I’m not really sure about the costumes. Usually, Bacchanal is about US$50 cheaper, but we come out with our prices first, so we’re not trying to go below anybody. We price them at what we think we can sell them for,” he said.

This year, Bacchanal Jamaica has nine costume sections, while their ‘allies’ have five.

Of the nine, El Dorado, Yayoi, and Arcadia were sold out first. They were designed by Lauren Austin, Alejandro Gomez, and Anya Elias, respectively.

Ammar Jr also said he and his team work alongside local and international designers each year to select the best costumes.

“Sometimes, we draw for designers, sometimes we pick up designers, sometimes we keep all of them and add to them. It depends on who comes up with the designs, because they submit the designs and then we choose what we want. We’re not married to any one designer,” he explained.

Meanwhile, the vibe at Park Place last Friday night was that of a family reunion. The directors desided to forgo their usual Mas Camp location for a more intimate setting. By approximately 11:00 pm, the venue was packed, and it was non-stop dancing until 2:00 am when the party ended.

Disc jocks Matt Camps, Franco, Tyler, Brush1, and Marlon Musique kept revellers entertained to classic soca hits from Destra, Machel Montano, Preedy, Fay-Ann Lyons, Bunji Garlin, and Mr Killa. Of course, there was a sprinkle of dancehall to complement the sounds of the eastern Caribbean.

Some patrons said it was the best Bacchanal experience they ever had.

“It is unbelievably so good. I love the venue and music. There’s something special about this event and I’m glad I was here for it,” said financial advisor, Lacy Jarret.

“Big up to the Bacchanal team for putting on such an incredible event. I loved the vibes,” added engineer Mark Johnson.

Ammar Jr was equally pleased with the event’s success.

“I never thought we were going to get this size crowd, but we’re pretty much full, and not only the numbers, but who is here. We have older people, middle aged-people and a lot of young people,” he said.