Sadeke Brooks, Staff Reporter

These two certainly enjoyed 'palancing' around the ring road during the UWI Carnival. - Winston Sill

Many patrons turned out for what was an extremely crowdy UWI J'ouvert on Friday night at the Students' Union, University of the West Indies, Mona.

There was a large crowd around the ticket booth and another crowd spanning about 50 metres with people squished together leading up to the entrance. By about 12:30 a.m., the gate was closed, tickets were sold out and the bus that was used as a ticket booth drove away from in front of the venue.

mishaps

As with any large crowds, there were some mishaps. One girl, who seemed almost lifeless, was rushed to a police car that whisked away with her. There was also another person appealing for the return of a wallet and even offering a $10,000 reward.

At one point the crowd at the entrance seemed to disappear as the gate was pushed opened and people made their way inside the already packed venue. As this was happening, people were being sprayed profusely with water both inside and outside the venue. The man holding the hose seemed to be enjoying his job as he sprayed and danced.

taste of soca

Those who were left outside made use of the music that was being played inside by Titan, Code Red and DJ Billy. They gave patrons a taste of soca, dancehall, reggae and alternative songs. They even dipped a little into the past, entertaining patrons with songs like Vybz Kartel's Tek and Busy Signal's Pon Di Edge and Dollar Wine.

After grinding on each other inside, patrons started to exit the venue to take on the ring road. Many of them were soaked, muddy and covered in paint. It was so bad that a group of men resorted to washing off the mud in some brown-coloured water that had settled beside a supposedly broken pipe.

The patrons started the march around the ring road at about 3 a.m., with Palance being one of the crowd favourites during the journey.

UWI Carnival. - Winston Sill