Popular Carnival festivities organizer ‘Nothin’ But Alcohol’ (NBA) will be joining forces with Rio Productions this year and will form an integral part of the Lighted Parade, lighting up the nighttime sky of Philipsburg on Saturday, April 1st 2017 .
NBA has come on board with Rio in order to further enhance the participant experience and to grow the parade exponentially compared to previous years. The popular group, which has become known for its’ fun-time J’ouvert morning troupe, has grown to well over 1000 participants over the years. “Teaming up with Rio Productions for the Lighted Parade has been something which we have considered for a few years already, and this year, we got together to make it happen.”.
The musical entertainment for the road will be a combination of bands and some of the Island’s most popular DJ’s. Back by popular demand will be the Small Axe Band and joining them on the road will be the Grand Masters Band both of which are bands out of St.Kitts. The 2016 parade was a great success, in part, due to the addition of Soggy Dollar Bar. This year Kurt Lukkert, known in the industry as “DJ Bossman” , will not disappoint as he will be adding new features and stepping up the look of his lighted “Rolls Royce”. Ever popular, DJ Outkast, will be rocking his road jams on the Upper Deck of the bandwagon for the night.
President of Rio Productions, Ms. Brenda Wathey is very excited about the new partner in the Rio Lighted Parade. “It has always been my intention to open the participation of the lighted parade to other groups and having NBA come onboard is the first step in growing the parade even further. She further went on to say: “…it’s such a blessing to work with these young and energetic local professionals; their enthusiasm and experience in the entertainment industry is priceless”.
Wathey is also very grateful for the continued support of the platinum sponsors of the parade, namely Chippie and Coors Light (Caribbean Liquors and Tobacco) who have been a part of the organizing team and an integral part of the success of the parade since its’ inception.
T-shirts for the parade will go on sale during the Heineken Regatta at the CHIPPIE booth. As usual, Chippie will offer a package deal which will include a FREE Top Up. For those participants who purchase early, T-shirts will be available at a cost of $40.00 for the first week of sales, after which the cost of participation will be $45.00. Purchase will include, 1 T-shirt, 1 set of LED string lights, Open bar and access to any music truck in the parade.
For more information concerning the start of t-shirt sales, participants are encouraged to follow Rio on Facebook or visit the Rio Productions web page for more detailed information: www.rioproductions.sx