The team behind Road Ready, the Caribbean’s #1 travel reality show and the first ever reality show themed around carnival in the Caribbean, is broadening their horizons and their audience.
Their new endeavor, Road Ready U College Tour 2023, is targeting campuses in five major cities: Orlando, Washington D.C., Dallas, Houston, and Miami.
The tour will start at the end of May and continue through October, participating in Caribbean carnivals being hosted in all five cities.
“Road Ready U is part of a bigger push to connect college kids to the local Caribbean community and culture,” shares Giovanni Moss, producer and conceptualizer behind the Road Ready brand.
Starting with Orlando, and partnering with the Florida Caribbean Student’s Association, six students will be selected as brand ambassadors to Road Ready TV. Their cost to attend the carnival – costumes, band fees, etc. – will be completely covered, with their fete journeys documented on social media. The students will be hosted by familiar faces – cast members from the original Road Ready reality show.
By connecting with, as Moss puts it, “the next-generation of revelers,” Road Ready U looks to strengthen the carnival culture in the United States. As a Caribbean transplant himself, Moss understands the challenges that come with existing between two cultures. He sees Road Ready U as assisting Caribbean immigrants by bringing a piece of their home to them, and connecting second generation immigrants to their parents’ cultures.
Along those lines, Road Ready U has found an ally in Caribshopper.
The largest online marketplace for authentic Caribbean-made products, Caribshopper helps immigrants keep that Caribbean connection by offering authentic goods for sale. Ingredients, sauces, and childhood-favorite snacks make up their robust catalog of offerings. Founder and CEO of Caribshopper, Kadion Preston, sees their sponsorship of Road Ready U as an easy fit.
“Caribbean Pride cannot be replaced no matter where you live,” he explains. “Road ready embodies keeping that culture alive. Liming is a Caribbean thing. Soca music is a Caribbean thing. Carnival is a Caribbean thing.”
Road Ready U will join the already successful Road Ready TV in showcasing carnival culture and how it intersects with the culture of the cities that celebrate it. Season 2 of Road Ready TV, which will follow a familiar cast navigating carnival in Miami, is set to premiere in June, timed for Caribbean Heritage Month. Shortly after, season 3, which set in Jamaica, will debut.
