K2K: mas in the Metaverse | Caribbean Beat

Trinidad’s K2K has been innovating with their mas designs since debuting their award-winning medium Carnival band in 2012. Now they’ve moved into the NFT and metaverse landscape. Karen and Kathy Norman, the twin designers and investment bankers behind K2K, talk about what this means for mas — as told to Caroline Taylor. Published in the …

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Shynel Brizan in her own words | Caribbean Beat

Two-time Queen of Carnival Shynel Brizan on how she got into stilt-walking and moko jumbie mas; balancing the demands of Carnival with motherhood; and the experience of winning her second title last year while four months pregnant — as told to Caroline Taylor. Published in the January/February 2023 issue of Caribbean Beat So I actually …

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A love letter to doing everything for Trinidad Carnival

Published as part of the "Carnival is love" series in the Jan/Feb 2022 edition of Caribbean Beat Is a vibe coming outta we soulEverybody take up yuh roleThis year we playing brave and boldJumbies coming out ah dey hole — Machel Montano, “Jumbie” Picture it: Port of Spain, 2007. For a plucky 20-something, it is …

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Machel Montano performs at CIC Fete. Photo by Jermaine Cruickshank, courtesy Machel Montano, via discovertnt.com

Carnival 2017: the who, what, where, when, why | Discover Trinidad & Tobago

Originally written for and published in the 2017 edition of Discover Trinidad & Tobago. The Carnival season is like one large buffet. You can sample all of it over multiple courses; just some of it, by confining yourself to a few things which appeal to you; or none at all (which means leaving the restaurant altogether, …

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Courtesy the TDC

Did you know? 25+ cool facts about Trinidad & Tobago | Discover T&T

Originally written for and published on the Discover Trinidad & Tobago website in 2016 There are many people and things that have landed Trinidad and Tobago in the history books…or which are just plain cool! Here are just some. And if you know more that you think should be here, feel free to give us a shout! …

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An insider guide to Port of Spain, Trinidad | The Guardian (UK)

This guide was written as an assignment for The Guardian (UK), and published as An insider’s cultural guide to Port of Spain: steel, sass and sweat 1) Your city's culture in five words Steel, seascapes, sass, and sweat. 2) What sound defines your city? The hills and valleys of Port of Spain’s residential communities is a strange combination …

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K2K: Fashion, Mas and Philanthropy | OUTLISH

Originally written for and published on OUTLISH.com in 2012 “A breath of fresh air.” That was the phrase that numerous people used over and over, when I spoke to them after K2K’s launch of their 2013 Carnival presentation, “The Human Race” last Thursday. Twin designers Karen and Kathy Norman have introduced something to the Carnival …

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K2K Carnival’s Karen & Kathy Norman | Discover Trinidad & Tobago

Originally written for and published in Discover Trinidad & Tobago magazine in 2012 The twins behind K2K Alliance, Kathy and Karen Norman, have generated a lot of buzz around their new medium-category, all-inclusive 2012 Carnival band “The Waters – Seas of Consciousness”. They talked to Caroline Taylor about the story behind their designs; the journey to making …

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