HIGH TEA, take a bow.
While an estimated 20 000 Barbadians flocked to Bushy Park, St Philip, for Soca Royale, a select few made the trek to Gun Hill Signal Station in St George for Jin Forde High Tea.
And for those select hundreds who made the journey uphill to the former military outpost, the all-inclusive premium event did not disappoint.
With its drink-laden cabanas and Caribbean Villa chef-prepared food, patrons wined, dined and partied from 3 p.m. until 8 p.m. that Sunday evening.
As the vibes pumped at the high-class event, entrepreneur, fashion designer and host Jin Forde explained that she only strived for the best at her white and gold party.
“I want the best of everything at my event. So there’s DJ Puffy, Salt and Don, DJ Psalms and Jagwa De Champion and Stiffy,” she said as she noted some of the entertainment lined up for the night.
She added that her team had come up with “fabulous” tea cocktails, ensuring the event had the right atmosphere, drinks, food and entertainment.
The ambience, the combination of premium drinks, food, all-white leather covered seats in the cabanas were clearly acknowledged by the partiers who were served by special hosts.
After the initial meet-and-greet wore off, Bashment Soca king Stiffy took the party from high tea to “hype tea”.
Performing his hits like Squat And Go Down, Eyelid and this year’s hit Tek Off Something, the king brought the same energy and verve that won him the crown.
Even in their all-white, many of the patrons got in wining positions and enjoyed the night.
Forde said that this year had been nothing but carnival for her, and went so far as to deem it as “The Year of Carnival”.
“2016 is the year of carnival,” she explained. “Earlier this year we did Monday wear for Trinidad. I also did costumes for Bermuda carnival, Crop Over in Barbados and now we’re experiencing Jin Forde High Tea,” she added.
She said that last year she designed the section for Epic Mas which was hosted by Machel Montano and added that this year she had a premium section in Baje entitled Vida.
Despite being tired, the host said she had a few surprises lined up for the partiers, and did just that with a band of drummers who ensured all who went to Jin Forde High Tea left on cloud nine.
