Luton Carnival 2014. It was bright, colourful, vibrant and youthful. And there wasn’t a drop of rain to be felt anywhere.

Many say that Luton Carnival has changed and not for the best. They say it lacks direction as it appears to be moving away from what a carnival really is, mas on the streets. They say it is trying to hard to be more than just a carnival by trying to please everybody and by doing so diluting the spirit and culture of carnival. If you have an opinion on this we would love to hear it. Feel free to leave it in the comment area below.

To us Luton Carnival mas/costumes hold more interest than some Notting Hill Carnival costumes. The themes that bands pick tell a story and this is clearly displayed in their costume designs. In Luton it’s not all about bikinis, beads and feathers. There is real mas making taking place, true creativity at its best.

The carnival got off to a slow start. (I think the sun being out shocked everyone). When it did get going the spectators cheered on the passing bands, the masqueraders started to feel the vibes, the sweet soca music began to play on a higher level, the essence of carnival could be felt and the sun stayed out!

It was great to see UK soca duo Lutenants perform on the main stage. They got the crowd to stand up, come closer, dance and appreciate the their talents. It was a great performance and we hope to see a lot more of them.

Lutenants Live On Stage

The overall numbers on the streets of Luton seemed to be a lot less than previous years. However those who were there were in their element.

We would like to say a big thank you to Rampage Mas Band for letting us tag along with their band. THANK YOU.

Review by Dwayne Huggins
Pictures by Dwayne Huggins & Quinten Reid

Mas On The Streets Of Luton Pictures

Luton Carnival Goer’s