Frolic with Full Bloom

ABOVE: Costumes from Frolic Nation’s 2019 Notting Hill Carnival band, Full Bloom.

Photo courtesy Frolic Nation

When Claudia Jones and the Caribbean immigrants started a parade fashioned after Trinidad and Tobago’s Carnival in the mid-1960s, they had no way of knowing that it would one day become Europe’s biggest street festival.

Notting Hill Carnival is now a reflection of the diversity of London with participating groups from a number of backgrounds joining in this show of creativity and unity.

The Festival has been undergoing a transformation in recent years with more young bandleaders bringing the T&T all-inclusive model to the streets of London.

Full Bloom is the newest band to hit the streets of London for the annual Notting Hill Carnival. Featuring designs by two of Trinidad’s leading designers – Sandra Hordatt and Shari Cumberbatch, along with London-based Michelle Lucas, bandleader Jean Pierre Poteon promises something for every kind of mas player.

JP, as he’s more commonly known, tells Franka how he came to the business of Carnival and explains his commitment to raising the standard of band management and customer service for the summer festival with his entertainment company Frolic Nation.

For more information about signing up with Full Bloom, visit the Frolic Nation website here.

CREDITS

Produced by Franka Philip and Ardene Sirjoo

Music and sound by Lyndon Livingstone – Razorshop Productions