Because the drive into Charlotte took so much longer than expected, I decided to go to Caviar first, where my homeboy DJ Chuck T was DJ-ing, but I had no idea what I was getting into when I entered uptown Charlotte, because I had never been to CIAA weekend before. And, what exactly is CIAA? Basically, it’s a college basketball tournament in Charlotte involving historically-Black colleges in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (hence the name CIAA). But for some reason, the basketball tournament is almost an afterthought now, as CIAA weekend has taken on a life of its own, something along the lines of Austin’s South By Southwest, New Orleans’ Mardi Gras, or Atlanta’s old Freaknik. CIAA takes the form of day parties and concerts, followed by night parties and rap shows, scattered all over the Charlotte area at various clubs, restaurants and hotels. Although the events downtown are the most prestigious, events take place everywhere and crowds and lines outside of establishments are the rule rather than the exception. There’s also a street party atmosphere to CIAA, with cars stuck in endless lines on downtown streets, and crowds hanging out on street corners, despite the cold weather. Needless to say, getting anywhere in a car downtown is difficult during the CIAA tournaments. I ended up parking my car in a garage some distance away from the club I was headed to, and walked.
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