Update on May 29, 2008: I just started a German group about the NHC Qyper meeting we are trying to organize.

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Original report (January 18, 2008):

For quite a while, I used to live in Cologne – which is one of Germany’s carnival capitals – but never really warmed up to the strange rituals performed by this city’s party people between November 11 and the day before Ash Wednesday each year. (More info at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cologne_Carnival.)

Two years ago, I finally encountered the kind of street party I can enjoy: the Notting Hill Carnival. I had wanted to visit it since I got into black music (funk, soul, hip hop, reggae, dancehall, soca, gospel, blues etc.). In 2006, I found a cheap flight to London which, as I found out months after I had bought the ticket, just happened to take me to town during carnival weekend.

And I became hooked instantly: 40 sound systems, hundreds of food stalls (many of them selling jerk chicken, my favourite Caribbean dish), up to 2 million people having fun (with very few altercations). What more can you want?

Since that magic August weekend, it’s one of my major goals in life to return to Notting Hill Carnival as often and as long as I can. :-)

For those who feel the same way, I started a Qype group dedicated to that event:
www.qype.co.uk/groups/384-Notting-Hill-Carnival

Maybe we can use the group to organize an international Qyper meeting around carnival time …

Went a couple of years ago having not been since a child. The crowds were so dense we saw only the tops of heads in the parade. It got really silly after a while and we got pushed and threatened. We tried to leave and moved along at a snails pace..lost half our friends and at one point I got incredibly scared..I was lifted off the ground by the crowd and was being carried along. I managed to stay with the last friend visible by hanging on to his backpack as I was carried along.
Never again!

I have experienced the carnival twice now and each time it has been a good experience, full of live entertainment and interesting music and food. A great day for all.

As I have lived in this area for 10 years now, I have lived through many wonderful carnival experiences. not only is it the biggest carnival in europe (i think im right in saying that?) its also the most fun. i love the cultural togetherness that it brings. you will meet all sorts of people on the streets, dancing, drinking, eating and generally having a good time. however, i think recently the origins of the notting hill carnival have been lost slightly, and it seems to be getting worse and worse. crime is an increasing problem, people seem to use it as an excuse for getting too drunk and causing trouble. not only that, but prices have soared, even street stalls selling traditional jamaican food have upped their prices to the point of absurdity. i do love it, and stay true to it as a local, but im just not sure that its all going in the right direction. i think in the following years it definitely won’t be as good as it used to be.

The Carnival began several decades ago as a celebration by West Indies immigrants in the UK. It continues to be a huge street party (between 1 and 2 million visitors over two days), and it was a lot of fun watching the parade, eating roast chicken, and listening to the DJ soundsystems scattered through the otherwise posh neighbourhood.

The crowds are insane, but the parade is a real spectacle. It’s entertaining to see all the mobile soundsystems and the fabulous costumes roll by (so long as you can see). Everyone should go at least once.

I enjoy walking through the streets just off the parade route, to hear some good dub tunes or locate some tasty jerk chicken. It’s a full-on party vibe for dozens of blocks in every direction.

The first day is “family day”, and not as mad as the second (family day was mad enough for me, thanks!).