What do you do when you’re ready for parade of the bands and the rain doesn’t stop? You just jump of course; and keep jumping.

There was no other option for hundreds of revellers on carnival Monday who made the best of mas in the rain, while hoping for the crucial announcement that would make carnival Tuesday a better bet.

The downpours were not enough to stop determined revellers who stuck to the long route up to the 6p.m. mandated end of revellery, although it was rain, rain and more rain almost from the jump-off of the main action for Carnival 2K9 “Nothing Sweeter Dan Dat”.

With about 16 carnival bands competing, the various difficulties posed by the rain added to the usual problems of staging mas, primarily the habitual late start. At the official end of the day there was no word as to whether all the bands were judged and what consideration was given to the dishevelment of rain-soaked costumed.

Up to the last minute revellers put on a enthusiastic display (Royalites Xtreme’s Barry George made a show of hauling his carnival King costume across the finish line). There were few spectators to parade for however. Even the tourists, for whom the date of the event was changed, were scarce. For the first time the early end of carnival 2-K-Wine must have been welcomed, as sodden revellers left flooded Castries streets headed for home sweet home, hoping that there is something sweeter than that.

That an earlier start to the second event is crucial to making carnival 2009 a success, seems to be the consensus among spectators as well as revellers. But there is little hope of that as last week carnival organisers, the Cultural Development Foundation (CDF), announced it was unsuccessful in its attempt to have carnival Tuesday declared an official holiday. The CDF was responding to calls from mas lovers, who felt the 6p.m. end to mas imposed by the police in the interest of national security, was too restrictive.

This was obvious on the road carnival Monday where, particularly for non-band members, there was scant opportunity to really jump. By late afternoon some desperate characters were attempting to force their way into carnival bands to enjoy a few minutes before the music stopped.

This overcast day has only added to what many consider a dismal carnival season, marred by poor quality and overlong productions, lacklustre performances, technical flaws, material that has failed to capture the public’s imagination and restrained public participation. The few high points to the season have been quite overshadowed.

There was also no word on the appearance of Amy Winehouse on the road. The troubled British singer has been given much credit of late for increasing the island’s international profile and rumours that she had expressed an interest in mas had spiralled into hopes that she would add hype to our carnival celebrations.

As die-hard Saint Lucian revellers dry out their costumes in preparation for another day of uncertainty, the words of soca artiste Ila Man seem most appropriate for the day; “For too long poor people dem ah suffer, pay their money and they can’t get it proper.”

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