A lot of my friends had often attended one of the most celebrated carnivals in Europe. Often I had received mixed signals to their experiences. At times it would be polluted with fights, brawls and knife crime ..other times it sounded like a glorious parade.
This year I built up the courage and put my fears into a box and decided to find out for myself.
Although building up to the day there was plenty of rumors of potential acid attacks which has devastatingly risen in the UK these past few months, I was still very much excited. The same enthusiastic feeling was shared on the coach to Carnival where plenty of people were drinking and getting into the festive vibe.
As we roamed the streets of Carnival first thing I noticed was the various representation of nations among the crowd. People wore scarfs that represented their nation of origins which supplied the event with a diverse celebratory spark. People of similar nations would greet each other with love for the representation of what clearly held dear to their hearts.
Although the streets were flooded with people, intoxicated with alcohol and weed, there was generally a cheerful ora in the air.
There was many floats that consisted of DJ's and festive dances, dressed up in exotic outfits and glitter. The floats was also diverse as the many nations representing in carnival. You had Salsa music, Afro Beats, Hip hop ..and many more to appeal to the tastes of the crowed. Among the floats, crowds would gather, dance with another and becoming accustomed with each other. Although at times, the crowd did get heated with little space to maneuver and people pushing each other to get through ..I found it was a mass gathering of people enjoying the moment.
In regards to food, there was plenty of stalls that provided various tastes. Afro Caribbean food, kebabs, to fish and chips ..all for a reasonable price. The jerk chicken I had was scrumptious and had me feening for more.
Although waking up today to the news there was one fatal Acid attack, where two people were injured ..I still would recommended the Notting Hill carnival to all! ..the very least to experience it once! With millions of people coming together it is inevitable some unfortunate circumstance would occur, however it is not an accurate picture of Carnival. As in my experience yesterday, I found it fun, cultural, bringing people together within the festive spirit!