Planning for Carnival: Strategies for Effortless Organization

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I always cringe when someone heading to a carnival says they’re “going on vacation”. If they plan on moving like a typical carnival-goer, I can confirm that they in fact will NOT be vacationing.  Bruh-Sis… with everything that has to be organized, purchased, picked up and attended – planning for carnival, and participating is a full blown production. Hence the reason some people rely on concierge services to handle all or some of their arrangements. As someone with trust and control issues I can’t fathom giving someone such authority with my funds and experience. I’m freaking out just thinking about it. So, how do I go about planning my carnival trips once my flights are booked? Keep reading!

Join the Carnival Chats

My carnival travels aren’t official until I have at least one leg of my flight secured. After that, it’s time to consume all the information. My preferred method to immerse myself in knowledge is to join large country-specific carnival group chats via WhatsApp. While chats can be overwhelming, they are a wealth of knowledge as many of the participants are experienced attendees, locals and event party promoters. Newbies are also beneficial to the chat because they tend to ask unique questions that open up discussions and even debates. Additionally, chats are the quickest way to obtain information about fete tickets and band launches. Why? Because with so many people in the chat, there’s always someone on alert with eyes peeled and ears open for any and all info.  As long as you’re active and checking the chat daily, you should be in good shape. In addition to the large group chat, I usually create a chat specifically for the people I’ll be traveling with. Here are some group chat tips:

  • Mute the chat indefinitely
  • Turn off automatic media downloads
  • Star important messages (ticket links, spreadsheets, food recommendations, location pins etc.)
  • Ask if you missed anything important (The admins may update you or tell you to “scroll up” LOL)

Follow Social Media Channels

It’s 2024. As much as I’d love to avoid it, social media is the HUB for carnival information. It’s important to stay plugged in to the social media channels for any carnival you’re attending. For me, this includes following official carnival pages, mas bands, jouvert bands, party promotion teams, designers, models, and even the country’s tourist board. When planning to play mas in costume, it’s helpful to follow or visit the pages of the designers and models because they often publish behind the scenes costume content in their stories. Following these sources also comes in handy at the end of the festivities because entities usually release official photographs and announce where participants can find them via SM. Once this happens, I usually purge the list of accounts I follow so that my feed isn’t overwhelmed with information that no longer pertains to me.

Utilize Planning Tools

For the actual organization of information I rely on a combination of digital tools. In the past, I’ve used physical planners and notes applications. One year, I even created a temporary website for my group (I know, that was a bit much LOL).

Physical planners became too cumbersome; traveling with a bulky book was far from ideal. I mean, who wants to waste precious real estate in their luggage when they’ll only need about 5 % of the pages from the planner? For a simpler process, I created a Digital Carnival Planner (from scratch) to suit my carnival-specific needs. Once portions of my planning are solidified, I document them in my digital planner. I pair the planner with a Google Sheets document and link it within the planner for easy access. Typically, I share the spreadsheet with everyone in my group. Here’s a breakdown of what I document within each tool:

Spreadsheet Info

  • Tab 1: Full itinerary with individual and group movements
  • Tab 2: Running expense sheet

Digital Planner

  • Notes section for quick info
  • Accommodation info (helpful when completing customs forms)
  • Overview of fete info 
  • Costume info and fashion mood boards
  • Transportation breakdown (flights, ground transportation)
  • Tourist activities and ideas
  • To do, and packing lists
  • Daily itinerary with space for mini journal entries during the trip

If you’re interested in downloading my Free Itinerary Planning Spreadsheet click HERE. To purchase my Ultimate Digital Carnival Planner click HERE and use the code “BLOGLOVE324” for a sweet discount. You can plan up to 5 trips within one planner.

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Organize Your Carnival-Related Emails

With all of the purchases and registrations that take place, it’s important to have your email inbox sorted properly. Firstly, try to use the same email address for everything related to your trip. If that’s not possible, at minimum, create labels for your trip. For example I have labels like “Fetes” and “Travels”…but you could create a label specifically for each trip i.e “Vincy Mas 2024”. You could also tag emails with multiple labels. For some reason I always find myself looking back through emails to do research on when I purchased something, how much it was or to find some other piece of information. If you’re mid-travel and need to find an email ASAP, filtering the inbox by label can save you a great deal of time and anxiety.

Make Lists and Shop Wisely

I’m that person that starts planning outfits as soon as the fete tickets are purchased. My brain can’t handle packing random clothes in a suitcase without knowing when they’ll be worn. Before I buy anything I make sure to shop through my closet. I proudly re-wear my clothes. That “once and done” mentality is not in my blood. It’s amazing how many unworn or once-worn pieces I come across in my wardrobe. Once I have some space in my brain, I eventually do some browsing on my favorite sites and steadily add things to my wish lists. As time draws near, I’ll move forward with the purchases. The goal is to have all my purchases at least one month prior to the trip, so that I can make the accessories to complement the outfits.

Well beloved, that’s all for now! I am currently in the throes of planning for Vincy Mas, so it was super easy for me to create this piece of content for you. I hope these tools and resources come in handy as you plan your next carnival trips. Stay plugged in for updates on my Vincy Mas planning adventures. Don’t hesitate to hit me up with any questions! 

Happy carnivaling!

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