Former West Indies cricket captain Brian Lara,
right, poses with Tourism Development Company
marketing manager Jason Baptiste, left, and
Kristen Chin Chong at Saturday’s One Fete at
the Queen’s Park Oval.

Thousands of fete lovers ignored the inclement weather to spend their Saturday evening at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain to take in The du Maurier’s fifth annual One Fete. The crowd clearly showed that the all-inclusive party was not affected by the Outta de Blue X fete, held at Queen’s Royal College, a stone’s throw away in St Clair. Kes the Band began the fete with an energetic performance. Soca songstress Nadia Batson held the crowd’s attention with her powerful delivery of songs, both old and new. “The performance was fantastic,” Batson said after her hour-long stint on stage. “One Fete is a sort of introduction to Carnival for me. It’s a nice, clean, healthy fete.”

Echoing similar views was her band mate Kees Diefenthaller, who said he was pleased with the crowd’s reaction. “We had fun,” he said. “That’s the most important thing. We launched some of our new material, too. I think the people liked it.” Chutney artiste Hunter was up next with his popular 2009 offering Jep Sting Naina. He paved the way for Bunji Garlin and the Asylum Band who had patrons singing along. Faye Ann Lyons-Alverez delivered some of her hits, including her already popular Carnival 2009 track, Heavy T Bumper. Her bulging tummy did not hamper her movements and she informed the crowd that her pregnancy was not an obstacle.

“People say I should not be performing, but I want to tell them that I am pregnant, not sick,” she said. Former Krosfyah singer and veteran entertainer Barbadian Edwin Yearwood, the newest member of Asylum, also treated patrons to some of his classics. “I enjoyed the performance,” said Bunji, after he came off stage. “It was real fun. We got a good reaction from the crowd.” Rodney “Benjai” Le Blanc, who no longer belongs to Machel Montano’s Xtatik, surprised many by performing with Asylum.

“We have not spoken in four years, but we’ve put aside our differences,” Benjai announced. A riveting performance is what patrons got from Machel Montano and the HD family. Joel “Zan” Fezeck kicked things off with Out On D Road, while Patrice Roberts, Farmer Nappy, Shal Marshall and 2007 Synergy Soca Star Umi Marcano also got in on the act. Showing he was intent on letting sleeping dogs lie, Montano, who had a well publicised fall-out last year with Benjai, brought him on stage to perform their duet Amnesty. Patrons’ palates were well satisfied as there was a wide variety of local dishes and drinks available.