West Indian Day Parade in Brooklyn

As usual, Eastern Parkway was spilling over with people for the Annual West Indian Day Parade in Brooklyn, NY. I usually don’t like going because of the crazy crowds and because I feel like I don’t need to go to something like that when I have the real deal. But yesterday, my bf reminded me that the Parade is not Carnival and I shouldn’t compare the two. Makes sense. The West Indian Parade is far from Carnival.

First of all, every single island in the Caribbean is represented. Each island typically has their own truck and/or band and can choose to ‘parade’ anyway they see fit. Some islands, like Trinidad and Barbados, choose to bring out bands. The mas in these bands isn’t nearly as pretty as what I’m accustomed too in Trini and the biggest bands are usually as big as the bands competing in the small band category for Band of the Year in Trinidad. Still, no one seems to care. Everybody is just out to have a good time.

Other islands, like Haiti and Jamaica, have only have big trucks and anyone who is Haitian or Jamaican can chip along behind the truck. Unlike Carnival in Trinidad, the music stopped once a truck moved far enough away from where I was standing. You just had to wait until the next truck passed in front of you to take a small wine.

I made sure to wear my Trinidad Junction t-shirt and conviced the bf and dp to wear theirs too. I also brought along 300 Trinidad Junction fliers to distribute to every Trini that I could spot. All in all, a nice time was had.