A Party People:
What's on in Trinidad After Dark

Parties & Concerts

Trinidadians love to party, so places to dance the night away are never in short supply. In the last few years, trendy nightclubs have opened in Arima, San Fernando, Chaguanas and Port of Spain, with themed events almost every day of the week.

Performances by famous acts, both local and foreign, are staged in large sports arenas and in more intimate club settings, where different floors, or levels, cater to different musical tastes and interests. Most clubs now ask for some form of ID and impose strict dress codes.

Apart from the clubs, private promotional outfits host parties at any time of year, with names like Unfaithful, Caution, or Unleashed. Some of these offer free premium drinks as part of an all-inclusive package.

During Carnival, the parties (fetes) multiply. Some are intimate, with just a few dozen people, while mega-fetes can be packed with over 10,000 jumping and gyrating party animals. At public fetes you pay for food and drinks, while all-inclusive parties provide food and drinks as part of the ticket price.

Outside the Carnival season, there are always mega-concerts in July and August. The main events are Soca for Summer, featuring a who’s who of soca, and Colours, which features popular Jamaican singers as well as top soca acts.

If soca and calypso aren’t your style, other shows during the year feature every kind of music: gospel, chutney, classical Indian, R&B, hip hop, rock, soca, calypso and house.

Bars, Pubs & Sports Bars

A large group of people gathered on one spot on a Friday evening, especially at the end of the month, means only one thing: they are drinking away the stress of the week at some favourite watering hole. In every community and town in Trinidad, bars and pubs abound. Roadside bars tend to be very basic in design and furnishings, while pubs are more upscale and attract a younger, more affluent clientele.

In recent years, sports bars have become very trendy. They range from upscale places where you can enjoy a seafood platter and cocktails while watching televised sports off a satellite, to no-frills joints where you can shoot pool and swig ice-cold beers. In recent years, wine bars have also become popular.

Casinos

Casinos are “private members’ clubs” in Trinidad, and are threatened with closure. Slot machines were very popular (they were shut down last year), but roulette, baccarat, blackjack, Caribbean stud poker, craps and Rhum 32 were still available at press time. Trinidad residents must first apply to join, but visitors do not have to. The government has in recent years indicated the intention to close down the industry, though nothing concrete has materialised to prevent people from trying their luck! One of the most popular is Ma Pau, next to Sweet Lime on Ariapita Avenue in Woodbrook.