AFTER a two-year wait due to COVID-19, Jamaica Carnival returned in full swing with it’s annual road march which saw several streets in the Corporate Area being transformed into a sea of colourful costumes, non-stop dancing, and soca music on Sunday.

Traditionally held in April, the road march is the final event on the carnival calendar in Jamaica.

Bacchanal Jamaica, one of two bands in this year’s march, pulled out all the stops to make it a memorable experience for the hundreds of soca faithful who turned out. Xodus was the other band which took to the streets.

“Bacchanal is a family band. I think we need to understand that whether you know the people or not, we’re all a part of the family on the road. We’re not about posing, we’re about playing Mas’,” Michael Ammar Jr, co-director of Bacchanal Jamaica, told the Jamaica Observer at the event. “Bacchanal is the party band; we’re not into the posing. It’s evident that we are a family band.”

The instructions were strict: Only soca music. Deejays including DJ Nova, Travis World, Barrie Hype and Back to Basics kept the turntables going, and not even the extent of the midday/mid-afternoon heat was enough to stop Bacchanal patrons from behaving ‘bad on the road’.

The band, which is marking its 22nd anniversary this year, kicked off the long-awaited march at 11:00 am and made its way down a new path which included Hope Road, Lady Musgrave Road, Trafalgar Road, Oxford Road, and Knutsford Boulevard — a major route change.

Onlookers along the stretch turned out in their numbers and tried to capture photo and video footage on their mobile devices, while members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force ensured that the event went on without incident.

As for vendors, the return of carnival in Jamaica was an utter blessing. Simone Brown, who hails from Spanish Town in St Catherine, noted that she made a decent profit selling water, juice, gum and other novelties that would come in handy to the scores of people who showed up.

“Whenever events are held I make more money than if I were staying at my stall on a regular day. It’s a good look,” she told the Observer.

As for overseas revellers, pandemic or no pandemic they had to make the July 10 date.

Ryan Grant from Atlanta, Georgia, said it was his first time in the island and he did not regret his Bacchanal experience.

“It’s a little hard understanding the patois because it’s such a thick accent, but I know my accent is thick too, where I’m from. I’m enjoying everything, especially the girls. It’s a very memorable experience,” he told the Observer.

Charmaine Bowes, who jetted in from Miami, Floria, shared similar sentiments.

“The soca music is so unique. I never experienced anything like this. I took the time off work to be here and I don’t regret it one bit,” said the registered nurse.

In addition to the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic, Jamaica recorded its first case of the deadly monekypox disease last week. Ammar Jr said that he and his team made sure that all revellers had a safe experience.

“I wasn’t worried about monkeypox, I was worried about executing Bacchanal. We have sanitisers on all the tables, there are masks if they want, and we have people to ensure that everything is safe and just ensuring that everything is secure,” he said, adding that the band was about two-thirds its regular size as a result of some overseas patrons not turning due to the inconvenience of the date.

Bacchanal’s costume sections included: El Dorado, Olympus, Xanadu, Camelot, Arcadia, Summerland and Yayoi.