This week we have a conversation with Jamaican Francine Bethune, co-founder of the Atlanta Carnival Band “We Kinda Ting”.  They have members from Trinidad, St Vincent, St Lucia, U.S., Montserrat, and Jamaica. We Kinda Ting has won band of the year from 2007 to 2013 in the Atlanta Carnival. Here is our conversation with Francine.
 
Q:Congrats on being the winning band in last years (2013) Atlanta Carnival. How long has the band been in existence?
The band has been in existence for 10 years.

Q: Who are the founders?
Founders are Sharon Ali (Trinidad) and myself, Francine Bethune (Jamaica)

Q: When do you start preparing the costumes for the next carnival?
We usually start designing in January/ February of each year.

Q: Are you involved in the costume making?
I am involved in costume designing and every aspect of the costume making.

Q: How many hours go into making 1 costume?
It is hard to tell as they are made in batches. For example, the same item as is made as the same time. A costume has several parts to it so for production, we teams that focus on one part of the costume at a time. As far as designing one costume and making the costume for our launch, that could take a few days as we take our time to design and revise it.

Q: Where do you get the ideas for the costume?
We are influenced by current fashion trends and ideas and other carnivals.
 
Q: what is your themes for this year’s carnival
This years theme is “La Dolce Vita”

Q: Has “We Kinda Ting” participated in other carnivals?
We have participated in Miami Carnival.

Q: Give us one reason why masquerading in a band is fun?
We provide an experience to our masqueraders that bring them back every year

Q: Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to do this interview. Any final thoughts for our readers
Good vibes, good people, and good music.

Learn more about the band on their facebook page . Learn more about the Atlanta Carnival.