West Indian Day Parade
Rain or shine, Brooklyn still gon’ wine! *Jamaican airhorn*
The West Indian Day Parade danced through Eastern Parkway yesterday, paying little attention to scattered downpours, with nearly two million people flocking to Crown Heights for the annual carnival. Partiers followed the road by foot and by float, resplendent in melanin, sequins and feathers, as spectators repped their Caribbean flags. Air was thick with the sounds of calypso, soca and reggae, the aromas of homestyle island food, good vibes and cultural pride.
Although NYC’s West Indian Day Parade has roots in 1940s Harlem, where the Trinidad Carnival Pageant Committee organized a street fête for nearly two decades (until its permit was revoked), the West Indian American Day Carnival Association brought the celebration to Crown Heights in 1969 — and Labor Day has never been the same.
