Newsline Entertainment (March 1)

It’s Carnival weekend!

The weekend officially began in Trinidad early Friday morning with the re-enactment of the Canboulay riots of 1881.

Tonight is the big night with the International Soca Monarch competition.

Eight finalists will vie for the title of Groovy Soca Monarch, and another eight will compete for the Power Soca title. Will Mr Killa Run run wid it?

And the Road March?

These are some of the important questions that will only be answered on the weekend.

And while most of the twin-island Republic will be feting, the police will be going all out to ensure the revellers are safe.

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Five beauties will vie for the title of Miss Dominica on Friday night.

They will reign for the next year alongside the Calypso Monarch who will be crowned on Saturday night at Carnival City in Roseau.

The highlight of the weekend in Roseau and Port of Spain will be the parade of costume bands. And the curtains will come down on this year’s festivities with last lap on Tuesday evening.

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Judges at this year’s Mashramani Festival say they were impressed with the improvement of costumes.

Twenty bands were judged as they made their way through the streets of Georgetown.

Chief Judge, Lorraine Barker-King said there was a marked improvement over previous years.

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Jamaica celebrated over 100 stalwarts of its music industry this week at the Reggae Gold Awards.

It was also a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Reggae Music.

The awards were presented in five categories: the Hall of Fame; Media Award, Icon Award, Honour Award, and Reggae Gold Award.

Among the awardees included former Prime Ministers Edward Seaga and PJ Patterson, Toots Hibbert, Millie Small, Burning Spear and Lee Scratch Perry.