The Everyday Carnival app is on the Google Playstore and the Apple App Store. Photo Credit: EVERYDAY CARNIVAL.
Securing costumes, hotel, transportation, event tickets and more all in one place, from the comfort of your own home? A new app promises to be a convenient solution to several time-consuming problems experienced by revelers and fete goers.
Through its app and point of sale platform, Everyday Carnival aims to be a one stop shop which streamlines the carnival experience by managing your browsing and bookings.
Although currently sparsely populated, interested promoters can sell and redeem tickets to customers globally through Everyday Carnival’s ticketing software which accepts multi-currency purchases. The point of sale system also facilitates the purchase of merchandise and other items from a variety of vendors. This ensures that “bachannalists” both local and abroad can utilize the free service to complete transactions in just a few clicks.
Ticketing for a weekend fete in Houston Texas is already live, thanks to a collaborative effort involving Carib Xotics. Consortium journalists were able to select between general admission and early bird passes, and followed the process until the in-app PayPal payment screen. Everyday Carnival hopes that the event will serve as proof-of-concept, making users — and event organizers and promoters — aware of the possibilities of the app and point-of-sale platform.
Leon Perkins, one of the minds behind the app, says the platform aims to maintain cultural relevance while simplifying the often complicated process of getting ready for Carnival. The all-inclusive platform caters to all Carnival enterprises, incorporating both contemporary and traditional elements of the festivities. Perkins says the team has streamlined the approach to getting carnival ready, making it user-friendly, all in an effort to increase the public awareness and appeal of Carnival.
The team recognized the need for such a service after visiting another country for Carnival — a logistical challenge made all the more difficult because finding information on essentials such as where to stay, and who to fete with was not an intuitive process. Recognizing that this would be a daunting hurdle for new or inexperienced revelers, Everyday Carnival set to work to create a means of making Carnival accessible to everyone while preserving its cultural significance.
Ultimately, the team’s goal is to create a travel and leisure app which combines access to companies and organizations involved in the business of carnival across the Caribbean region and beyond. To date, the brand has collaborated with the USVI Department of Tourism’s Division of Festivals, and aims to add more partnerships with organizations which share their passion for promoting culturally-sensitive entertainment events.
Despite making significant strides towards their ultimate goals, like many small businesses, finance has been a major constraint, especially when it comes to promoting the app and growing its user base. In the absence of substantial funding, the team has to date utilized grants and personal savings to kickstart this business, while seeking investors.
Financial challenges aside, the team remains optimistic about the app’s prospects for taking the hard work out of carnival preparations. Currently, customers can download the Everyday Carnival app from the Google Play and App Store, while vendors and promoters can utilize the Point of Sale platform to create their storefront or ticketed events. Information is readily available on the brands social media pages- Everyday Carnival on Facebook, and @Followthefete on Twitter and Instagram.
