Welcome to the National Carnival Commission of Trinidad and Tobago

J'ouvert Carnival 2019 - Bandleaders Guidelines

Guidelines for the Parade of J'ouvert Bands - Port of Spain and environs

These guidelines are to assist in the management of the Parade of J'ouvert Bands within Port of Spain, with the aim of minimising the number of concerns by residences, as a result of a lack of regulations that guide J'ouvert celebrations.

Please consider the following in this regard:

Band Registration:
To facilitate information capture, including the number of bands participating within the routes of Port of Spain

Band Rules and Regulation:
This will provide guidelines for Crowd Security and Control within the participating areas.

Route Map for each band:
To provide directions to all bands, with the aim of avoiding clashes and grid locks along the routes.

Start and end location:
This will assist in determining where bands are entering and departing the proposed routes.

(A) ELIGIBILITY:
To be eligible to participate in the J'ouvert Parade of the Bands, in Port of Spain and Environs, each Carnival band must comply with the following:

  • (a) All bands must be registered with NCC and must also be owned and controlled by a Trinidad & Tobago Citizen or Permanent Resident.
  • (b) Bandleaders must be twenty-one (21) years of age or over
    (Proof of age may be required.)
  • (c) All ensembles, music trucks engaged to provide the musical accompaniment along the parade route must be officially registered with the NCC.

(B) PROCEDURE/ GUIDELINES
All registered bands must comply with the following guidelines where applicable.

Registration and Applications:
All registration of bands must be conducted at the NCC offices, Carnival City…Queens Park Savannah.

Start Location:
All bands must provide at starting location to ensure access to the major parade routes.

Start Time:
All bands are reminded that the J'ouvert celebrations begin at 4:00 am on Monday 4th March 2019.

J'ouvert Route:
There are several preferred routes for bands to consider. Bands are therefore required to identify their preferred route to ensure better control in the movement of bands.

Vehicles

  • All Vehicles to be used for J'ouvert must comply with the process in obtaining the official permit for the route. This includes music trucks, food and beverage trucks, utility and private vehicles. All vehicles must provide valid inspection certificates, driver's permits, insurance, copyright licence and a letter of authorisation from the bandleader.
  • All Vehicles registered for conventional bands must have an approval in writing for use during the J'ouvert celebrations.
  • Vehicle passes must be displayed in accordance to the guidelines.
  • Vehicles serving food and beverages must obtain a Public Health certificate for the route.

Bandleaders must co-operate with the NCC Parade Marshals and Police to ensure orderly progress of the flow of the bands. Any band that obstructs the Parade and/or refuses to comply with the directions of the NCC Parade Security, Police and/or Marshals shall be removed from the route.