Hello! 

Ive never been to Carnival in St. Thomas before, I’m very excited to be coming this this year. How to find a troupe or a band to play mas with? If I can’t find one is it ok me and my friends make our own costumes to march in? 

Thank you!!

Hi,
Get ready to have a good time!
Carnival time is something we look forward too! It is a wonderful celebration of our culture!
There is a Jouvert troupe (Kaleidoscope) on eventbrite.com. Go on youtube and see them dancing.

Sometimes you will see other Jouvert troupes advertising on St. Thomas Facebook groups.

3 more months to go and I cannot wait.

(@ivanabbeauty), you should find a troupe to join. Troupes generally have a fee that covers your costume and some other costs. You would need to get in touch with a troupe early so your costume can be ordered, and also so they can keep you informed on things they are doing. We are getting a list of troupes together, will share it once available. As far as you making your own costume and joining in.  That isn't really an option in the Parade because each entry is registered in advance with the Carnival Parade Committee, and each entry is assigned a number for the order they appear in the line up. You can however dress up and join in at J'ouvert, which is a parade of sorts but not organized by troupes and groups, everyone just joins in. J'ouvert is an early morning Carnival event, bands in trucks perform down the Waterfront and people dance behind their favorite bands as they move down the street. If you do a search on youtube you will find videos of both the parade and J'ouvert and you will get an idea of what they are about.