Mudslinging is nothing new to Washington, DC, especially during election season, but on June 28-29, District residents will be able to enjoy a different type of mudslinging.

A band of 400 people will be dancing down Georgia Avenue covered in mud, bringing an old Trinidadian tradition to one of the biggest Carnival celebrations in the United States. The band, known as the Garage Boyz, will be one of 25 bands bringing calypso, soca, steelpan and reggae to the DC Caribbean Carnival. Last year, crowds of 250,000 covered Georgia Avenue from Missouri Avenue to Banneker Park, near Howard University.

The History and Traditions of Carnival
By most accounts, Carnival first gained importance in the Caribbean on the Islands of Trinidad and Tobago. Adapted from a Catholic holiday brought over by the French, Carnival became an important holiday unifying a country which combined traditions of African, French, English, Amerindian, Indian and Spanish influence.

Crowds last year were 10 times the size of the first DC Caribbean Carnival, which was held in 1993 with nine bands and 25,000 spectators.

Part of that increase comes from a growing reputation that attracts Carnival enthusiasts from all over the country. Part of that increase comes from a growing interest among young people in the traditions of the Caribbean.

“We were a little worried about whether [the culture] was going to be passed on, but there are a lot of new groups, and a lot of people are carrying on the traditions,” said Patrice Francis. At 27, Francis is one of the youngest bandleaders in the District. While both of her parents are from Trinidad, she grew up in the US. “I don't know what the motivation is for other people, but for me it is to make sure the culture is continued and presented in the proper way and just to have fun.” Francis said the average age of masqueraders in her band is 23, and includes a mix that is roughly half Caribbean-born and half American-born.

The father-son team behind the band Trini-Nite Liters has a similar story. Born in DC, Kevin Sheen grew up watching his Trinidadian-American father participate in Carnival. “I always saw it through my dad’s eyes until I experienced it myself, then I fell in love with it,” he said. Five years ago, at the age of 22, he joined his father to form the Trini-Nite Liters. Sheen said he will eventually take on the position of bandleader when his father retires and continue to celebrate Carnival “till God takes me away.”

Like all living traditions, Carnival has changed significantly over the years. Modern Carnival celebrations in the US are more likely to have speakers blasting the latest music instead of live steel bands, and ornate costumes instead of the traditional characters and political satire that used to characterize Carnival in Trinidad generations ago.

But some DC bands are emerging that want to bring back the older Carnival traditions, and these bands are catching on with the younger generation.

The Garage Boyz, known for incorporating mud into their costumes, are one of the groups bringing ancient traditions to life alongside the speakers and costumes that have come to characterize modern celebrations. “Playing mud has been an integral part of Trinidad’s Carnival since its inception,” said bandleader Cindy Alexis.

In Trinidad, the opening of Carnival is celebrated in a pre-dawn festival called J'ouvert. Many of the oldest Trinidadian traditions, known as “Ole Mas,” are incorporated into the J'ouvert celebrations. Starting at around three or four in the morning, people cover themselves in mud, paint or oil, or dress as satirical political figures or traditional characters, including red or blue devils known as “jab jab's.”

No one knows exactly where the tradition of wearing mud or paint started. It could be related to a festival in India called Holi, where people throw colored powder at each other. It could have arisen as a way to disguise participants celebrating J'ouvert when the government of Trinidad was trying to reform the tradition, wary of large gatherings of people. It’s also possible that it comes from ancient African traditions. Whatever its origin, it is an old tradition being revitalized by the Garage Boyz, which has more than 400 participants, making it one of the largest bands in the DC Carnival. The sight of participants covered in mud has become a staple of the DC Carnival.

The pattern continues with “New Generation,” a new band making its debut this year with costumes themed around traditional J'ouvert characters. “We're bringing back the traditional ‘ole mas,’ with midnight revelers, blue devils, black devils called jab jab,” said bandleader Melvin Babwah. “What’s happening with the Carnival is the traditions of ‘ole mas’ are fading, are dying, so I am trying to bring it back to keep the culture alive,” he said. He said that about half of the masqueraders in his band are young, many of them the children of immigrants. “Everybody is for it. Everybody is glad that it is coming back.”

Another recent addition to the DC Carnival was the addition of a Jonkanoo band in 2005, which revived a tradition of live drums and whistles popular in the 1960s in the Bahamas.

Bringing the Carnival to DC
Roland Barnes, the president of the DC Caribbean Carnival for 16 years, said that when he and other leaders of the Caribbean community were first planning the Carnival in 1993, none of them could predict what the outcome would be.

Noticing that DC was one of the only cities with significant Caribbean populations but no Carnival, he and others began organizing with “limited funds and strong Caribbean community support.”

The Carnival experienced exponential growth, but the growth in spectators has brought a growth in costs that has at times left organizers worried about the survival of the program. The DC Caribbean Carnival Inc. covers the cost of obtaining permits and pays the District for police coverage and cleanup costs. Barnes said he’s seen cost increases of about 50 percent for public services in the past three to five years. But he said he understands that the Carnival has a public responsibility.

Loughton Sargeant, executive director of the DCCC, noticed a “huge jump in the presence of police since 2005.” He said that he received a tremendous amount of complaints from the general public about the increased police presence. “This is a festival, not a protest,” he said. But while he would like to see more sensitivity, “we are not here to point fingers. They do a good job, and we appreciate the job they do.” In general, Sargeant said, “The city supports it wholeheartedly.”

Barnes said that the city government is “totally behind the event.” Last year, Mayor Fenty walked the parade, and for the first time, the DCCC received a $200,000 grant from the government to help them cover costs.

In addition to support from the city government, the Carnival has strong support along Georgia Avenue. “This event goes beyond the government agencies or the police. This is the people’s event. This is a community event,” said Loughton.

Bringing Together the Community
The parade covers almost three miles of Georgia Avenue, starting at Missouri Avenue and extending through Petworth, towards Howard University, ending right before U Street. “I think it gives Georgia Avenue a status,” said Claire Nelson, one of the founders of the DC Carnival. “Residents have something to look forward to that distinguishes their ward.”

Popular Petworth blogger Dan Silverman said that apart from one or two complaints about trash two years ago, he has heard only praise for the Carnival from Petworth residents.

In 2003, the DCCC experimented with moving the Carnival downtown. But Sargeant said that communities in Wards 1 and 4 insisted that they move the parade back to Georgia Avenue the next year. Moving the Carnival back to Georgia Avenue was “like coming home,” he said.

Barnes said that not only has the Carnival become a part of Georgia Avenue, the Carnival provides a boost for the many Caribbean restaurants and stores that line Georgia Avenue.

Sargeant said the Carnival provides a political boost for the Caribbean community as well. “It has brought us closer together and actually brought to the forefront the need of having a voice, especially a political voice here in the city. And the Carnival is what drives that,” he said.

Claire Nelson, one of the founding members of the DC Carnival, gives an example of how the creation of a band playing Jonkanoo, a type of music made popular in the Bahamas, brought together the Bahamian community. “The Bahamian community is much more cohesive now because of that first band and visible. Because no one even knew that they were here before, but now everyone knows that there are Bahamians in Washington,” she said.

Nelson went on to chair the National Campaign for Caribbean-American Heritage Month. She said they chose June partially because the DC Carnival gave them a large, visible event to organize around. June officially became National Caribbean-American Heritage Month in 2006.

A Celebration of Caribbean Culture for Everyone
The founders are quick to say that while they wanted to showcase Caribbean culture and provide an event to unify the Caribbean-American community, they want their event to be inclusive.

“The point is to be really free for a couple of hours. It transcends race, color, creed,” said Garage Boyz bandleader Cindy Alexis. “The events blend everything.”

Even when bands celebrate a particular country or a particular country's tradition, organizers say the main point of Carnival is to foster a sense of unity.

“Carnival is a unifying event in our community. It is one of the few spaces where we are able to come together across national, cultural and linguistic boundaries,” Nelson said.

As this celebration of unity and Caribbean culture has become a part of Georgia Avenue, bandleaders have seen a rise in the participation among people with no Caribbean ancestry. Kendley John, the bandleader of a newer band with a large youth presence, said African-Americans with no Caribbean ancestry make up about half of his band. He also has band members from Ghana and Nigeria.

The founders said they are pleased to see how 16 years later the Carnival they started is stronger and larger than ever. “It’s soothing to see how it has grown and survived,” Claire Nelson said.

Masqueraders, some from here, some from the Caribbean, will be invoking the oldest traditions of Caribbean Carnival, while 18-wheelers laden with an impossible amount of speakers blast the latest hits.

New and old, Caribbean and American, the DC Carnival will have something for everyone.