Notting Hill Carnival mas bands call for funding amid threat to future

For many revellers, Notting Hill Carnival is just a booze-soaked bank holiday street party. The three-day affair comes and goes for most Londoners , who pay homage to Caribbean culture one day and forget about it the next.

But for the mas bands and creatives at the heart of Carnival, preserving the heritage and culture is a year long labour of love - one that is now threatened by economic pressures and tighter regulations.

Though the hunger for playing on the road and participating in the parade remains strong, without funding and sponsorship, the art risks being wiped out entirely.

Mas comes from the word masquerade and the bands of people playing music and dancing during the parade are known as mas bands. Early mas was linked to African traditions and the costumes were based on parodies of the French planter class, for example, satirical spoofs like Dame Lorraine

The groups will return to the streets of Notting Hill this bank holiday weekend, as Carnival attracts up to two million people. A Carnival steel band competition is taking place on Saturday, before the children’s and adult’ days parades on Sunday and Monday.

Operating a mas band is a serious business. Colin Julien, co-founder of Caribbean Sessions mas band, is at the helm of a huge operation - balancing expenses across costumes , marketing, security, music, catering, and transport.

It’s not just about selling a costume. Mas bands must deliver an experience to their members that includes meals, live DJs and security on Carnival day.

“It has to be to a high standard so that people return, people can tell their friends and family that they had a great time with us - they got fed, watered, and they felt secure,” Mr Julien explains.

Colin and Rhianna Julien and their children The Standard Vinny Ranks The Standard Vinny Vincenzo Ranks, one of the owners at Karnival Mania, feeds more than 900 masqueraders every year. Even from their mas camp - the location where costumes are built and distributed - there is rum punch flowing on tap for customers collecting their outfits.

Yet the economics of carnival can be brutal for mas camp leaders. Bands must fund their own private security teams for the parade and rely on costume sales to offset the operational costs.

“Nobody runs a mas band for profit,” Mr Julien says. He recalls a year when costume sales were dangerously low, putting their band at risk. Some owners have even been left bankrupt or are struggling to pay their mortgages even months after the music stops, Mr Ranks says.

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“There’s a lot of bands that need help. We really need some help in this carnival community with some funding,” Mr Ranks says.