Time to party island-style, Brooklyn! Expect millions of people this Labor Day on Eastern Parkway for the 56th Annual West Indian Day Parade: A spectacular, carnival celebration of Caribbean history, culture, music, food and people.
The high-energy parade will kick off at 11:00am Sept. 4, from Rochester Avenue in Crown Heights and move west along Eastern Parkway. The parade route ends at the Brooklyn Museum, where there will be a stage for presentations, costume competitions and performances.
The parade celebrates a holiday called J'Ouvert, which comes from the French word for daybreak. J'Ouvert starts at the break of dawn on Sept. 4 to celebrate the end of slavery in the Caribbean and the impact of Caribbean culture in the U.S.
J'Ouvert initially started as a pre-Lent celebration in February or March. But it shifted dates to Labor Day so that the event could be outside, according to the West Indian American Day Carnival Association. The Association — which puts the parade on every year — said the event attracts around 4 million participants and spectators annually.
The parade's crown jewels are the two highly competitive contests: the steel drum band contest and the costume contest. Several floats will be hosted by local community partners of the WIADCA and two people will also be crowned king and queen of the parade.
The parade will be the final event of a week-long festival of Caribbean heritage in Brooklyn called New York Carnival Week.
“It’s a recognition and an acknowledgment of the great contributions that the Caribbean community has made in New York City,” Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso told Gothamist in an interview.
“It's allowing for folks from the West Indies to really put their culture, their food, their music front and center, and a day to just enjoy being West Indian.”
For street closures due to the carnival, check here.
