To celebrate the return of Notting Hill Carnival, we had long standing Community photographer @mymategym (Paul) on the ground documenting the goings on at the bank holiday festivities. We also identified three Offspring Community members that Paul tracked down over the two days, and chatted to them about what carnival means to them.
MIA FERREIRA
Mia tells us that her parents have been attending Notting Hill Carnival since they immigrated to London in the 70s; a tradition they continued when they had kids.
“From a young age, they’d take us to carnival on the Sunday along with our cousins and we’d play outside the Portuguese club, Sporting. My parents would use the opportunity to catch up with all the people they grew up with as young adults while we ran around and danced around the floats before they hit the main parade”.
She explains that the return of NHC this year was exciting for her because it’s always an opportunity to catch up with her friends: “the older we get, the harder it is to find a day where we’re all free to see each other and carnival weekend is that one guaranteed time we’re all ready to have a proper reunion.”
“Attending NHC reminds me to be grateful to be part of the London community as you grow up with an appreciation for a range of backgrounds, cultures, and lifestyles that I don’t think you fully appreciate around the rest of the UK”.
Mia points out that there’s a real history to Notting Hill Carnival that makes attending it even more meaningful.
“It's about celebrating the Caribbean culture, community and remembering the hardships the Windrush generation faced when coming to London- it’s a lot more than just a motive for bank holiday weekend, we celebrate to strengthen the sense of belonging in the community”.
NATASHA FRANCIS
“My Dad was from Trinidad and Tobago and that’s where he learned to play the steelpan. When he came to England in the 60s, he continued to play and started taking me to the panyard, says Natasha Francis, who’s a steelpan player in the Metronomes Steel Orchestra.
“My Steelband will be 50 years old next year”, she tells us. Last year, she had to perform virtually because of the pandemic, which, she explains, is nothing like being in front of a live crowd.
“Returning and seeing all the beautiful costumes, steelbands, people laughing, dancing and having fun on the road brought joy to my heart. I love being a part of it. It means everything to me. It’s my culture and part of my DNA”.
RICHARD
Richard, who’s been going to carnival since he was 15, remembers following his older friends for the first time.
“I was lucky enough to have a few brethren’s older than myself, who I grew up with that were also into Jamaican sounds system culture so I tagged along with them. I had a pair of Stefan Edberg Adidas trainers that took an absolute battering that year.”
This year, he took his niece and nephew to watch the floats, but the Bank Holiday Monday was reserved for partying and celebrating his culture, something he feared would be lost after the pandemic.
“I love the vibes the music brings & I love the social interaction with other festival goers, after the past few years of not having Carnival, I was fearful that the future of it would be relegated to the past; but I felt a real sense of unity amongst people from my culture”.
“Peace & love. Rocking, moving and feeling irie together”.
