Spectacular costumes are all part of the fun of annual West Indian American Day Carnival on Labor Day in Brooklyn (photo by twi-ny/mdr)
WEST INDIAN AMERICAN DAY CARNIVAL AND PARADE
Eastern Pkwy. from Schenectady Ave. to Grand Army Plaza
Monday, September 7, free, 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
718-467-1797
wiadcacarnival.org
Every Labor Day, millions of people line Eastern Parkway, celebrating the city’s best annual parade, the West Indian American Day Carnival, waving flags from such nations as Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, the Cayman Islands, Antigua, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Aruba, Curaçao, and many more. The festivities actually begin on September 3, with special events (listed below) every day leading up to the parade. The Labor Day partying commences at 2:00 am with the traditional J’Ouvert Morning, a precarnival procession featuring steel drums and percussion and fabulous, inexpensive masquerade costumes, marching from Grand Army Plaza to Flatbush Ave. and on to Empire Blvd., then to Nostrand Ave. and Linden Blvd. The Parade of Bands begins around 11:00 am, as truckloads of blasting Caribbean music and groups of ornately dressed dancers, costume bands, masqueraders, moko jumbies, and thousands of others bump and grind their way down Eastern Parkway to Grand Army Plaza, participating in one last farewell to the flesh prior to Lent. There will also be local politicians galore, with Sen. Charles Schumer and his ever-present bullhorn doing lots of meeting and greeting. Don’t eat before you go; the great homemade food includes ackee and saltfish, oxtail stew, breadfruit, macaroni pie, curried goat, jerk chicken, fishcakes, rice and peas, and red velvet cake. The farther east you venture, the more closed in it gets; by the time you get near Crown Heights, it could take you half an hour just to cross the street, so take it easy and settle in for a fun, colorful day where you need not hurry. This year’s marshals are Facebook global head of diversity Maxine Williams, U.S. Virgin Islands governor Keith E Mapp, and, TWU Local 100 secretary-treasurer Earl Phillips. Oh, and be prepared to see a whole lotta twerkin’ going on that would make even Miley Cyrus blush; we particularly like when the twerkers get the police involved.
Thursday, September 3
Caribbean Freedom Festival, with KES the Band, RemBunction, Scorpion, Young Devyn, Da Big Show, Mr. Pearly, and more, hosted by Riggo Suave, Barrie Hype, Herbert Holler & the Freedom Party NYC, Milo Miles, Biggie and DJ One Plus, and an Ole MAS carnival characters competition, Brooklyn Museum, $25, 7:00 pm – 1:00 am
Friday, September 4
The Official Stay in School Concert and College Fair, with live music by Mr. Pearly, DJ Super Soca Bass, martial arts demonstrations, a fashion show, spoken word, and more, Brooklyn Museum, free, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Brass Fest, with Ricardo Drue, Lyrikal, Skinny Fabulous, Pressure Busspipe, Preedy, Hypasounds, Ravi B & Karma, Bunji Garlin, Fay-Ann Lyons & the Asylum Vikings, DJ Sounds 4 Life, DJ Back 2 Basics, Foreign Bass, DJ Spice, DJ Renee, Boodoosingh Tassa Drummers, and Kutters Rhythm Section, hosted by Vybezman Redman and MC Wassy, Brooklyn Museum, $55, 8:00 pm – 3:00 am
Saturday, September 5
Junior Carnival Parade, St. John’s Place between Kingston & Brooklyn Aves. to Brooklyn Museum at Washington Ave., 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Steelband Panorama 2015, championship showdown with Pan Sonatas, CASYM, Pantonic, Steel Xplosion, ADLIB, METRO, “D” Radoes, Crossfire Steel Orchestra, Harmony Steel Orchestra, Despers USA, Bench Warmers Rhythm Section, and Brooklyn Steel Orchestra, with music by DJ One Plus, hosted by MC Godfrey Jack and Jemma Jordan, Brooklyn Museum, $45, 8:00 pm – 3:00 am
Sunday, September 6
Diamanche Gras: A Tribute to Yesteryear, with the Mighty Sparrow, King David Rudder, Swallow, Edwin Yearwood, Something Positive Inc., the Sunshine Band, Boodoosingh Tassa Drummers, Sumkinabakanaal Rhythm Section, the Kings and Queens of the MAS Bands, DJ One Plus, and the Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery & Grill National Jamaican Patty Eating Contest, hosted by MC Wassy, MC Godfrey Jack, and Jemma Jordan, Brooklyn Museum, $35, 7:00 pm – 1:00 am