The Vibes Are Sweeter When They're From Your Own Culture
When you live outside of the culture you grew up in, parts of your soul are never truly settled. Both my husband and I grew up in the US Virgin Islands, but have lived in New Jersey for the past 20 years. While we have assimilated, take visits back home, and find other ways to keep our culture alive, we miss being absorbed in it. To be frank, we miss the Caribbean vibes! One way to fulfill this yearning for full on Caribbean vibes is by attending Caribbean Carnival festivities whenever and wherever possible. My husband certainly takes these opportunities more than I do, but this year we added Atlanta’s Carnival to the list for a Memorial Day Weekend family getaway. I was really anticipating this experience because 1. visiting new states and cities excites me, 2. This would be a new shared experience with our daughter, and 3. Not only was it a Carnival experience, but there is a large population of Virgin Islanders who live in Georgia. Have you ever heard the song from the sitcom Cheers: “sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name…”? Figuratively speaking, we were looking forward to a familiarity that comes along with being surrounded by people who share the same culture as we do.
Before getting to ATL
I’m a planner at heart and a woman who values her time! So, as you can imagine, seeking information and booking activities beforehand is very important for me. Instinctively, once our airfare was confirmed, I began combing the internet, put out a “recommendations please” Facebook post, and prompted my husband to reach out to his friends who live in Atlanta to get as much information as possible. After all the attempts for clarity, I still felt like I wasn’t making any headway with planning. We did learn basic information about a parade, a picnic for the Virgin Islands community in GA, and received digital flyers about several fetes. This is where it started to get tricky! Questions such as “what is the best fete?’, “Where is the location in proximity to our hotel?’, and “will there be a DJ or live artists?” floated around my mind and began to turn into barriers for the proactive planning I’d hoped to do. Despite the questions and feelings of uncertainty, we ended up with tickets to enter an after-parade festival village along with tickets for an all white fete. These were just enough plans for me to move on from creating an itinerary to transition into what I would be wearing. Although I’d never been to Atlanta, one thing this island girl knows is how to dress in the heat and for Carnival, so keeping cool, comfortable, and cute were the only things to keep in mind while packing.
Enjoying HOTlanta
Early morning flights are the best. I don’t know about you, but I enjoy arriving as early as possible to my destination. From the moment we touched down, the ATL heat showed us who was boss, and baabyyy, I wasn’t ready! The temperature was so intense that during the ride to the hotel, I began to reevaluate the entire itinerary in my mind. There was no way we were planning to watch a parade, or do anything outdoors for that matter, with the Sun beating down on us like we had stole something.
Once we were checked into our hotel, it was time to hit the ground running! The three of us seemed to all have a different agenda which meant splitting up until later that evening. My daughter and husband decided to have brunch at Atlanta Breakfast Club Southern Kitchen and then visit World of Coca Cola for a tour. I opted for taking an uber to Negril Village for a quiet lunch and pina colada with a leisurely stroll through downtown back to the hotel afterwards. We met back up excited to compare notes and share our latest discoveries. Day one was nice, but we were still extremely excited to become consumed with Carnival Vibes and culture over the next few days.
The only thing I could think of the next morning was how hot it would be on the parade route until a logistical problem presented itself. About two hours before leaving the hotel, we learned that there are two parades on the same day, but in two different locations. Say what, now? Along with this information, we realized that we had tickets to festival city for the downtown after-parade entertainment, but the parade we were interested in attending was in Lithonia, GA. The learning curve was in full effect and it seemed like we weren’t doing great at all until we had the bright idea to attend the parade in Lithonia, and then enjoy the entertainment downtown that evening. We did both...problem solved! We weren’t on an island, but it didn’t matter because with every troupe that passed us by, I was transported to familiar times when annually attending the Carnival parade with family and friends on St. Thomas was my norm. When we got there, the first thing we purchased along the parade route was a parasol with the VI flag patterned all around it which made standing in the sun much more tolerable. Now, standing to watch the beautiful array of men and women dancing in the street and feeling free with vibrant costumes on became more tolerable. Indeed, we were still sweltering in Lithonia, but in true Caribbean fashion, nothing mattered but good vibes. This continued into the evening as we danced the night away to Caribbean artists and bands in Festival City at Central Park. The energy was electric and it left us overly excited to spend the day at the Virgin Islands picnic with our VI peeps the next day.
As anticipated, the great company, delicious food, and local entertainment did not disappoint. Seeing family and friends who we haven’t seen in ages was the ultimate reward for sweltering all day. Nadia Batson’s song, So Long, stayed on repeat in my mind as we moved through the crowd, smiling at familiar faces and eagerly sharing warm embraces. Standing around eating and drinking local dishes, dancing to calypso music, and supporting talented Virgin Islands entrepreneurs made our entire trip completely worth the visit.
I was pleasantly surprised by the delicious cake from fellow Virgin Islands baker at The Cupcake Genie and the slamming food prepared by my former high school classmate of Finally, Real Cook Food. Shopping for clothes and accessories with KT Collections was just as exciting too! The day ended, and while we were full from the experience, the sun wore us out and we never made it to the all-white fete that we purchased tickets for. Georgia Sun - 10, Hendricks - 0.
Back to reality
Memorial Day weekend in Atlanta turned out to be a special treat. We came for Carnival, but made time to take in historical sights and visit popular black-owned celebrity businesses. Visiting Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Park, eating at Kandi and Todd’s restaurant, Old Lady Gang, and seeing the infamous Underground Atlanta location made for a humbling and appreciative experience of Atlanta. Although we made sure to take in some more traditional aspects of what Atlanta has to offer, it’s evident that my time there was not long enough, but I’m grateful for the rich experience.
A few things I would do differently include:
Staying at a hotel outside of downtown Atlanta. We actually switched hotels after two nights into the trip. We realized that the downtown location didn’t make sense logistically based on our needs. The second hotel in Buckhead, near Lenox Square Mall, suited our needs better: bigger rooms, less crowded, and closer to activities that were of interest for this go ‘round.
Sticking to one parade and Festival City experience. Variety is the spice of life, but we did lose time trying to experience two separate Carnival Festivities.
Go to the VI picnic later in the day to have a better chance of having energy for a late-night fete. Georgia sun is next level hot! We didn’t take into account how drained we would be after hours of standing around eating, drinking, and dancing in that heat. The only thing I needed after that was a shower and a bed not a fete. However, if we went later in the day, brought a chair, and paced ourselves better, we would’ve been able to tackle both events.
I knew we chose the perfect location for a Memorial Day Weekend getaway when our teenage daughter had zero complaints, stayed engaged the entire time, and even found her own way around the city to meet up with a friend. Score! Would we visit Atlanta during Memorial Day Weekend again? Absolutely!
Ultimately, travel is the gift that keeps on giving. Every time we step out of the bubble of our normal routines, we gain a deeper appreciation for others, and if we’re fortunate enough, it will transcend to ourselves and our culture too. I’ve learned that honoring the yearning(s) that I feel is a crucial component to becoming the best version of myself.
Have you ever taken a trip for the sole purpose of becoming absorbed in a culture that is a part of your identity? Please share in the comments below.