St. Maarten J’Ouvert 2015: Paint, Water & Pure Carnival Madness
Before most of St. Maarten had even seen daylight, Carnival was already in full swing.
In the early hours of Monday, April 27, 2015, revelers poured onto the streets for St. Maarten Carnival J’Ouvert — a morning built around Soca, paint, water, colour and absolutely no intention of staying clean.
Julianspromos went straight into the action with J’Ouvert Morning Splash, the Kalaboom Team experience that promised exactly what its name suggested.
By the time the sun came up, the road was covered in paint, people were soaked, the trucks were still moving and Carnival Monday was only getting started.
Julian C. Hackett filmed and edited the Julianspromos coverage.
J’Ouvert Starts Before Sunrise
St. Maarten’s official J’Ouvert Morning Jump-Up began at 4:00 AM, giving Carnival lovers a reason to be on the road while much of the island was still asleep.
There were no elaborate parade costumes to protect.
This was J’Ouvert.
The uniform was whatever you were willing to cover in paint, powder and water.
Music trucks rolled through the streets as revelers chipped, jumped, danced and got progressively messier with every mile.
And right in the middle of it was Splash.
J’Ouvert Morning Splash Hits the Road
Presented by Kalaboom Team and Coors Light, J’Ouvert Morning Splash brought its own identity to the morning.
The event artwork advertised it as the:
Fog – Colour – Paint – Pool Edition
That was not just a slogan.
Splash was built around getting wet, getting dirty and staying in the party.
Paint flew through the crowd.
Colour covered shirts and faces.
Water came from the trucks.
Fog and smoke effects added another layer to the road experience.
And the music never really stopped.
Paint, Water and a Moving Pool Party
Splash took the normal J’Ouvert formula and pushed it a little further.
Instead of only following a music truck, revelers were surrounded by paint, powder, water, fog effects and pool-style elements as the group moved through St. Maarten.
The second promotional artwork summed up the whole experience in four words:
FOG. COLOUR. PAINT. POOL.
INSERT BLUE J’OUVERT MORNING SPLASH FLYER HERE
The idea was simple: if you joined Splash, you were not making it through the morning dry.
Asa Bantan, Red Eye Crew & King Vers Bring the Live Energy
The road experience also came with a stacked Caribbean lineup.
The 2015 Splash flyer advertised live performances from:
Red Eye Crew
King Vers
Asa Bantan
That gave the morning another level of energy as artists became part of the moving Carnival experience rather than performing from a traditional concert stage.
Asa Bantan brought Dominica’s Bouyon energy into the mix, while Red Eye Crew and King Vers added to a lineup already surrounded by trucks, DJs and thousands of moving revelers.
DJs Keep J’Ouvert Moving
Splash also packed the road with DJs.
The advertised music lineup included Kalaboom Deejays, DJ Outkast, Dutty Sham, Suppa Kid, Silva Hype and Deej Sly.
A special guest from Guadeloupe, Zebrist Tell Dem – Selekta J2MO, was also promoted for the morning.
That meant the soundtrack kept changing as Splash moved through the road — live artists one moment, DJs the next, then straight back into Soca and Carnival energy.
Unlimited Drinks, Unlimited Bacchanal
The flyer also promoted unlimited drinking, adding one more piece to the all-in Splash experience.
It was not a normal Monday morning.
People were dancing before breakfast.
Paint was everywhere.
Water was flying.
Music was blasting from trucks.
And by sunrise, there was no hiding who had been inside J’Ouvert.
When the Sun Comes Up
Part of what makes J’Ouvert special is watching the morning change around the party.
The road starts in darkness.
Then the sky begins to lighten.
Little by little, you can actually see what the night — and the paint — has done to everyone.
Clean shirts become multicolored.
Faces disappear under paint and powder.
People who started the morning dry are completely soaked.
And the party keeps going.
That transition from darkness into daylight is all over the Julianspromos footage from Splash.
Watch St. Maarten J’Ouvert 2015
The original Julianspromos highlights put viewers directly inside the morning with Splash — from the paint and water to the artists, DJs and revelers taking over the road.
St. Maarten J’Ouvert 2015 Photo Gallery
The photos bring back another side of the morning — painted faces, wet clothes, dancing crowds and the nonstop movement surrounding Splash.
Julianspromos’ First Time in St. Maarten
The 2015 Carnival trip marked Julianspromos’ first time covering events in St. Maarten.
And the introduction could hardly have been more intense.
Before sunrise on April 27, Julian C. Hackett was already on the road filming J’Ouvert Morning Splash as paint, water, fog and Soca took over the streets.
There was no gradual introduction to the island’s Carnival culture.
The first Julianspromos experience in St. Maarten started right in the middle of J’Ouvert.
Later that same day, the coverage continued at Project X Fete inside Carnival Village.
One Carnival Day Wasn’t Enough
J’Ouvert was only the beginning of April 27.
After spending the early morning on the road, St. Maarten Carnival continued later that day with Project X Fete, another major event covered by Julianspromos.
That meant Julian went from filming a 4 AM paint-and-water J’Ouvert to covering another large Carnival event later the same day.
Two completely different experiences.
Same Carnival Monday.
Read Next: Project X Fete St. Maarten 2015
https://julianspromos.com/archives/project-x-fete-st-maarten-2015
Julianspromos in St. Maarten
The 2015 trip added St. Maarten to the growing list of Caribbean Carnival destinations Julianspromos was documenting during this period.
And there was probably no better introduction than J’Ouvert.
Instead of watching Carnival from a distance, the camera was right in the middle of the road as Splash moved through the morning.
Paint hit the crowd.
Water hit the camera area.
Artists jumped into the action.
The sun came up.
And the party still was not finished.
From the Julianspromos Archives
By 2015, Julianspromos was increasingly traveling directly into Caribbean Carnival destinations rather than only covering the culture from New York.
Jamaica Carnival had just been documented earlier that month.
Now the cameras were in St. Maarten.
And this assignment looked nothing like a nightclub interview or concert stage.
Julian was moving with the revelers, filming J’Ouvert from inside the experience while Splash turned the streets into a mix of paint, water, fog and Soca.
On April 27, 2015, St. Maarten Carnival got messy.
Very messy.
And Julianspromos was right there for it.
Event Details
Event: St. Maarten Carnival J’Ouvert Morning Jump-Up
Featured Experience: J’Ouvert Morning Splash
Edition: Fog – Colour – Paint – Pool Edition
Date: Monday, April 27, 2015
Start Time: 4:00 AM
Location: Philipsburg, St. Maarten
Presented By: Kalaboom Team & Coors Light
Live Performances: Red Eye Crew, King Vers & Asa Bantan
Music By: Kalaboom Deejays, DJ Outkast, Dutty Sham, Suppa Kid, Silva Hype & Deej Sly
Special Guest: Zebrist Tell Dem – Selekta J2MO
Experience: Fog, colour, paint, water/pool elements & unlimited drinking
Camera: Julian C. Hackett
Editor: Julian C. Hackett
