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‘Vive Le Carnivale’: Brooklyn puts its Caribbean pride on display at the 58th annual West Indian Day Parade

Caribbean-Americans celebrated West Indian culture at the 58th West Indian American Day Parade along Eastern Parkway on Sept. 1.
Photo by Gabriele Holtermann

Caribbean pride was on full display as hundreds of thousands of revelers lined Eastern Parkway on Sept. 1 for the 58th annual West Indian Day Parade. Held under the theme “Vive Le Carnivale,” or “Long Live Carnival,” the celebration featured floats, dancers, marching bands, and the customary parade of politicians — among them, Gov. Kathy Hochul and mayoral candidates Eric Adams, Zohran Mamdani, Andrew Cuomo, and Curtis Sliwa.

At the traditional West Indian Day Carnival Association Breakfast before the parade, Hochul said her administration would continue to “embrace the incredible culture and the customs and the cuisine of the Caribbean,” despite threats from the Trump administration.

Al Sharpton and Kathy Hochul at west indian day parade
Rev. Al Sharpton (at left) and Gov. Hochul marched in the parade. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
group pose at west indian day parade
.Thousands of people flocked to Eastern Parkway to celebrate. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann

“I know in light of what has been happening under the new administration in Washington, there’s a lot of fear and anxiety. I’m here to tell you that today we’ll celebrate, tomorrow we’ll get back up and fight like hell and say you’re not going to separate our families, our children,” Hochul said. “I’m going to continue focusing on creating trade relationships, sending more teams from Empire State Development to the islands to help give them catalysts of dollars and resources to be successful.”

The parade, which started at Utica Avenue in Crown Heights and ended at Grand Army Plaza in Prospect Heights, marked the grand finale of NY Carnival festivities hosted by the West Indian-American Day Carnival Association. The celebrations began Aug. 28 and highlighted Caribbean culture, arts, food, history and traditions.

“The vibes are high, people are dancing in the street, I can’t tell if the trucks are causing the vibrations but this is the place to be every Labor Day,” said Canarsie resident Kim Sullivan. 

woman in costume at west indian day parade
The parade is New York City’s largest cultural celebration. Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
people on west indian day parade float
The parade filled the streets with Caribbean music, dance, and culture.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann

New York City’s largest cultural celebration dates back to the 1930s, when Jessie Wardell and her friends started Carnival in Harlem. It was later brought to Brooklyn by Trinidadian Rufus Goring, where the city hosts the largest West Indian immigrant population in the United States.

Alberta Hoskins of Kalamazoo, Michigan, attended the parade for the first time and said she “tremendously” enjoyed the colorful costumes and the booming sounds of soca, calypso, compas and reggae along the Parkway.

“You don’t even have to be from an island,” Hoskins told Brooklyn Paper. “The energy makes you feel like you belong to one of the islands.”

Janet Coleman displayed her Grenadian pride, wearing a shirt in the island’s colors, and said she attends the parade every year because it reminds her of home, where she always participated in the festivities.

people doing acrobatics at west indian day parade
Attendees said the parade seems to get bigger and better each year. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
people on parade float dancing
The parade honored and celebrated an array of Caribbean cultures. Photo by Lloyd Mitchell

“Every year it seems like it gets bigger and greater,” Coleman said. “I love the bands, the costume, you know, it’s just a fun time, you know what I mean.”

Central Brooklyn has a large Caribbean-American community, and locals said the day was a celebration of their shared heritage and culture. 

“This is a day our cultures blend together and come together for our great islands,” said Bed-Stuy resident Roger Strickland. 

Natsha Campbell of Flatbush added “This about our culture, it is a beautiful day for our culture, I look forward to it every year.”

woman in carnival outfit
One attendee said the parade marks ‘a beautiful day for our culture.’ Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
Caribbean Americans celebrate West Indian culture at the 58th West Indian American Day Parade. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
Alberta Hoskins (right) loved the energy and excitement of the 58th West Indian American Day Parade.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
Caribbean-Americans celebrate West Indian culture at the 58th West Indian American Day Parade along Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, New York, on Sept. 1, 2025.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann

Despite the beefed-up NYPD security along the two-mile parade route, the vibrant party once again saw its share of violence. According to the NYPD, seven people were shot in four separate incidents, and one person was slashed on Monday evening shortly after the parade wrapped up.

The first shooting occurred around 5:30 p.m. on Eastern Parkway between Schenectady and Utica avenues, where a woman was grazed by a bullet and a man was shot in the leg.

The second incident happened near Eastern Parkway and Classon Avenue around 6:45 p.m., leaving one person shot in the shoulder and another in the chest.

At about 6:55 p.m., two more people were injured in a shooting near Nostrand and Sterling avenues, including a man shot in the neck and leg and another in the ankle. The NYPD has taken a person of interest into custody in connection with this case, though no charges have been announced. Another individual was slashed near Eastern Parkway and Nostrand Avenue.