Oktoberfest ‘En Kweyol’ which was held last Sunday October 7, revved up Creole Heritage Month to the point where excitement and enthusiasm is abuzz for the rest of the month, particularly Jounen Kweyol on Sunday October 28.
The fifth Oktoberfest En Kweyol, which was held at Samaans Park, saw a few intermittent showers, which did little to dampen the enthusiasm of patrons. Some, already bolstered by an earlier victory of Darren Sammy and the West Indies in the ICC T20 against Sri Lanka, used the rain as fuel from heaven to continue celebrating. Host EZI Hall capitalized on the moment, calling on the crowd to cheer for the boys to the music of David Rudder’s “Rally round the West Indies.” It was a perfect and unexpected start to what turned out to be another great “Oktoberfest En Kweyol,” put on by Windward and Leeward Brewery Ltd.
The event welcomed patrons via the entrance to the grotto with a free sampling of the brew master’s special and their own souvenir Oktoberfest cup. Right there in the grotto, was the food court with a wide variety of booths offering tasty Creole food ranging from seafood delights to the popular green fig and salt fish, bouyon, crab callaloo, fish-cakes, bakes and more. The main arena boasted three huge bars, nestled atop covered platforms, each branded by the three giants in the WLBL portfolio Guinness, Heineken and Piton. There, patrons crowded the space in order to purchase as many of the imported beers as possible. Some also stocked their supplies in special beer buckets and carried their ‘packages’ out to their parked vehicles, before returning for more!
Among the popular collectors’ items on Sunday was the Paulaner keg from Germany and Parbo Djugo from Suriname. Desperado, the tequila flavoured beer which made its debut last year was again a favourite this year. The other brews which added much variety to this year’s cast included Murphy’s Irish Red from Ireland, Heineken Dark, Strongbow Gold, Red Stripe, Amstel Bright and La Biere Lorraine from Martinique.
On the main-stage, the entertainment was just as appealing and riveting with cultural performances coming from Mamai La kai and Avot Servis a group that interacted nicely with the crowd. Lightening Stars, with their amazing fire eating and limbo act also engaged the crowd, while DYP took the party up a few notches with their set of popular hits. Ricky T and Kakal joined DYP on stage with energetic performances, which had the crowd going.
Oktoberfest En Kweyol reached its climax with the true “Kweyol” flair coming from K’ribe Fusion whose female vocalist performed a number of popular Zouk songs. With their rich musical accompaniment, they were later joined by Zouk master Luc Leandry of Guadeloupe who enriched the performance even further. Even as the numbers began to dwindle sometime after midnight under dark skies, Luc Leandry squeezed out every drop of music he had brought with him, ensuring that fans of “Oktoberfest En Kweyol” not only got their beers worth but their VAT inclusive ticket price’s worth as well!
