Port of Spain Street Entertainment Culture

                                On the Streets of Port of Spain, Street Entertainment

Street entertainment in Port of Spain really comes alive mainly at night. Apart from the annual carnival celebrations through the streets of Port of Spain there is the epic night life along Ariapita Avenue. Street entertainment accounts for at least fifty percent of the entertainments that takes place within the urban area. It provides employment opportunities for persons who are interested in the tourism and hospitality industry; provide opportunities for business development and growth within the entertainment industry and definitely has social and economic values to its stakeholders. I have experienced the night life within this area and can safely blog about it. As for reflecting on course work or text notes is difficult, because with entertainment there is no limit to what people enjoy. Within the urban space entertainment can be derived from walking along the streets viewing the high rise buildings or from jogging in the parks. Entertainment as defined by the Oxford dictionary simply states “it’s the action of providing or being provided with amusement or enjoyment or an event, performance or activity designed to entertain others. For example at the  Savannah in Port of Spain there are joggers that uses the pedestrian walking for jogging with peers or for an evening stroll.  Apart from the joggers around the Savannah there are coconut and snow cone vendors, taking the time to enjoy a cold coconut cut on the spot or an icy treat of snow cone within the business of the city area, allows you to experience the enjoyment of the item and viewing the surrounding area and some of the most architectural designed buildings.  

During the day Ariapita Avenue seems more commercially influenced, by night the street comes alive with the open doors of restaurants that are built along the road. By Thursday night into the weekend the street is filled with the knocking of glasses cheering with friends and colleagues at lounges and restaurants that have open air decks. This gives customers the opportunity to have the option of being seated outside to view and experience the ambiance of the open concept atmosphere.  From these decks miles of Ariapita Avenue can be seen.

Street Food entertainment is a major attraction to visitors on the avenue including both locals and foreigners. The mixture and variety of cuisine available on the streets is definitely associated with the mixture of culture throughout Trinidad. There is Indian, creole, Mexican, Syrian, Chinese, Asian, American cuisine among the mouthwatering array food. After an upbeat night of clubbing/partying venturing to the avenue is the perfect after party lime to indulge in hot corn soup or perfectly stuffed and wrapped gyros, if not there is always the option of getting a hot bowl of wanton soup or chicken corn soup at the Asian restaurant Me Asia.

Along the street of the Avenue there are tricycle tours of the area and is quite unique to any urban area in Trinidad, you pay 20 dollars for a tour. Once on the street you can 

hear the different beats of music giving a beat to Ariapita Avenue, the street pavements are jamming with crowds of people dancing and enjoying themselves, in Trinidad they call it “painting the town red”. 

                 Food Entertainment on the Street

Like international entertainment we have adopted the Wine and Food Festival that takes place throughout Port of Spain based on the availability of a hosting arena. In 2014 the food Festival was held at Woodbrook Youth Facility and is usually open airs with a couple of hoisted tents to accommodate the number of chefs that is eagerly waiting the event, not to mention the huge crowd that is anticipating. This event brings awareness to food tourism.