Hollywood Carnival 2014: On the Road With Epic Mas on Hollywood Boulevard
On Saturday, June 21, 2014, Caribbean Carnival culture moved straight through the heart of Los Angeles as the Hollywood Carnival Parade of Bands transformed Hollywood Boulevard with Soca, costumes, feathers, flags and masqueraders.
The parade formed part of the 3rd Annual Los Angeles Culture Festival, a week of Caribbean and multicultural events held across Los Angeles under the theme “Expressing the Colors of Culture & Freedom.”
For Carnival Saturday, Julianspromos joined Epic Mas, which was participating on the road as a section within Extacy Mas. Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson hosted the Julianspromos coverage, while Julian C. Hackett shot and edited the footage.
Hollywood Carnival 2014 and the 3rd Annual Los Angeles Culture Festival, June 17–22, 2014.
Carnival Comes to Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard is usually associated with movie premieres, tourists and the Walk of Fame.
On Carnival Saturday, the scenery changed.
Masqueraders brought the visual traditions of Caribbean Carnival into one of the world's most recognizable entertainment districts, turning the boulevard into a road filled with music, dancing and elaborate costumes.
The parade began near Vermont Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard and moved west through Hollywood toward the Highland Avenue area.
It was a striking setting for mas.
Carnival traditions more commonly seen on the streets of Port of Spain, Brooklyn, Toronto or Miami were now moving through Hollywood.
On the Road With Epic Mas
Julianspromos spent Carnival day with Epic Mas and Extacy Mas.
Epic's 2014 presentation was titled “Soleil,” bringing brightly colored costumes onto Hollywood Boulevard as masqueraders made their way along the route.
At this point, Epic had not yet developed into the full independent Carnival band it would become.
In 2014, the group entered Hollywood Carnival as a section within Extacy Mas, making this road appearance an early chapter in the Epic Mas story.
Watch Hollywood Carnival 2014 With Epic Mas
Uploaded: June 27, 2014
The video follows the Carnival from inside the road experience rather than from the sidelines.
Masqueraders dance through Hollywood, costumes move through the crowds, Soca provides the soundtrack and the surrounding Los Angeles scenery gives the footage a look unlike many of the other Carnival destinations of the period.
Epic Mas Was Just Beginning
What makes the 2014 coverage particularly interesting today is what happened after that first season.
Epic entered Hollywood Carnival with a relatively small group of masqueraders as part of Extacy Mas.
By the following year, Epic Mas had expanded into its own Carnival band, returning to Hollywood with a much larger presence.
That growth makes the 2014 footage more than a Carnival recap.
It captures Epic before the larger organization audiences would see in subsequent Hollywood Carnival seasons.
Caribbean Culture in the Entertainment Capital
Hollywood Carnival was still young in 2014, but its location gave it a distinctive identity.
Los Angeles already represented music, film, fashion and international entertainment. Hollywood Carnival added Caribbean culture to that landscape.
The parade brought together masqueraders and supporters from different islands and communities while introducing spectators along Hollywood Boulevard to elements of Caribbean Carnival — mas, Soca, dancing and road culture.
For West Coast Caribbean communities, the festival created another major space to celebrate traditions that had long been established in cities such as New York, Toronto and Miami.
Faces Around Hollywood Carnival
Hollywood Carnival weekend also drew artists, DJs, designers and personalities from across Caribbean entertainment.
The wider weekend included names such as Machel Montano, Lyrikal, Anya Ayoung-Chee, Giselle “The Wassi One,” Tony Cross and others connected to the growing Hollywood Carnival scene.
Some had already appeared at Friday night's Pure Happiness event, while others were part of the road, parties and activities surrounding Carnival Saturday.
That movement from fete to road to after-party gave the weekend the same rhythm familiar to other major Caribbean Carnivals — the celebration was much larger than one parade.
Hollywood Carnival 2014 Photo Gallery
The photographs from Carnival Saturday preserve much more of the day than could fit into the highlights video.
The gallery captures Epic Mas, Extacy Mas, individual masqueraders, costume details, Hollywood Boulevard and moments from Vivaa's on-location coverage.
Epic Mas, Extacy Mas and masqueraders on Hollywood Boulevard during Hollywood Carnival 2014.
From “Soleil” to a Growing Hollywood Carnival Presence
For Epic Mas, the road in 2014 was the beginning of something larger.
The group returned the following year with its own band and a much bigger presence within Hollywood Carnival.
That progression makes the 2014 and 2015 coverage especially useful together.
One year shows Epic developing inside another band.
The next shows how quickly that concept grew.
From the Julianspromos Archives
Hollywood Carnival 2014 marked Julianspromos' first Hollywood Carnival assignment.
The Los Angeles trip represented an important expansion of the company's Carnival coverage beyond its New York base and other established East Coast assignments.
Friday night began with Pure Happiness, where Julianspromos documented Machel Montano and Lyrikal in Hollywood.
On Saturday, the coverage moved directly onto Hollywood Boulevard with Epic Mas and Extacy Mas, producing both the road video and an extensive collection of original photography.
The assignment then continued through Monday night at The Epic After Party at Xen Lounge, where Julianspromos captured an extended Machel Montano performance and a separate interview between Machel and Vivaa.
Throughout the trip, Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson handled the on-camera coverage while Julian C. Hackett shot and edited the footage.
The timing of the Saturday coverage adds another layer to its importance. Julianspromos was documenting Epic Mas during its earliest Hollywood Carnival period, before the group expanded into its own band.
Julianspromos returned to Hollywood Carnival in later years, creating a continuing record of both the Carnival and Epic Mas as they developed.
Looking back, Hollywood Boulevard in 2014 represents the beginning of that West Coast chapter in the Julianspromos archive.
Continue Hollywood Carnival 2014
Previous: Pure Happiness — Friday, June 20, 2014
https://julianspromos.com/archives/pure-happiness-hollywood-2014-machel-montano-lyrikal
Next: The Epic After Party at Xen Lounge — Monday, June 23, 2014
https://julianspromos.com/archives/epic-after-party-xen-lounge-hollywood-2014
