SOCIAL SCENE: A Sandals affair

NEW YEAR’S EVE is the one night of the year when couples are not shy about making a public display of their love and affection for each other, and the kiss that begins at the stroke of midnight lingers.

This time around, the party scene on the big night of the year saw many people opting to patronise parties at private homes, while hundreds of the young crowd took to the ever popular mass parties such as Elevate at the Belle Plantation.

First Light, the New Year’s Day party at East Point Bar and Grill is in its second year and has proven to be a signature event, new in concept, since it begins in the wee hours of the morning of the New Year.

Still, the hotels staging the traditional New Year’s Eve dinner and dance attracted many patrons apart from their guests. Some people still clearly prefer the intimacy of smaller gatherings to usher in the New Year, and therefore join guests at hotels such as Hilton, the Crane, Sandy Lane and Radisson Aquatica to celebrate.

There was just a small group of locals among the hundreds of revellers at Sandals Barbados, among them Minister of Culture Stephen Lashley and Minister of Health John Boyce.

The Sandals party was made even livelier with the hotel’s staff themselves dressed up to the nines, joining in the festivities, all the while checking to see that everyone was having as good a time as they were. (GC)