NYC's West Indian Day Parade 2023: What you need to know
Aug. 30, 2023, 5:01 a.m.
J'Ouvert and the annual parade, which is one of the largest in New York City and beyond, celebrates Caribbean culture, music and history.
Sizable crowds are expected to line Brooklyn's sidewalks as the West Indian Day Parade steps off on Labor Day, marking the final event of the West Indian American Day Carnival Association’s World Stage 2023 New York Carnival Week.
The West Indian Day Parade, one of New York's most spirited and robust summer festivals, celebrates the culture of the more than 500,000 New Yorkers of non-Hispanic Caribbean descent.
“The essence of it for us here is that we just come together as a culture just to show unity and to show our culture,” Sandy Jean, the co-owner of the Brooklyn based Banboche Masquerade Camp, said. “It's just a really fun way to represent ourselves .... The purpose for us is to bring joy and color and life into the community.”
The parade usually attracts more than 2 million people.
“It’s a recognition and an acknowledgment of the great contributions that the Caribbean community has made in New York City,” said Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. “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.”
What is the West Indian Day Parade?
The thunderous celebration of culture that takes place along Eastern Parkway involves dancing, costumes and music, as well as competition among masquerade bands from the city's Caribbean communities.
“The main feature of our parade is the mas bands and masqueraders in costume presenting a theme through their bands,” said Cecille Ford, the chair of the West Indian American Day Carnival Association's Mass Committee. “This is something that we have bought with us from the Caribbean Islands, mainly Trinidad and Tobago, where Carnival is a very big event.”
When does the parade start?
Officially the West Indian Day Parade starts at 11 a.m. on Monday, but don’t be surprised to see people dancing in the wee hours of the morning. J’Ouvert, French for “break of day,” marks the unofficial beginning of the West Indian Day Parade, starting at 6 a.m.
What is the parade route?
The parade steps off from Rochester Avenue in Crown Heights and heads west along Eastern Parkway, culminating with a presentation on stage in front of the Brooklyn Museum.
What should attendees expect?
The parade includes a multitude of presentations, spectacles, a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11 a.m., a police steel band orchestra, and floats from various sponsors and community partners of the West Indian American Day Carnival Association.
“The final presentation would be the mas bands and their costumes that are judged for their presentation on the stage area in front of the Brooklyn Museum,” Ford said.
Where can I watch?
Attendees can watch from the sidelines on Eastern Parkway, but should make sure to stay off the street where the masqueraders are.
“I would like the public to really recognize that the masqueraders do pay to portray their costumes and we should allow them to present their portrayals,” Ford said. “When we have non-costumed participants along the route, it really hinders the masqueraders from enjoying their time and the presentations that they are bringing to the Parkway.”
Ford said the parade will also be broadcast live on television this year on ABC Channel 7 and WPIX 11 from noon to 3 p.m.
What streets will be closed?
A number of streets will be closed starting Wednesday through Monday night, at the discretion of the NYPD. Here’s a list:
- Grand Army Plaza (Entire Circle)
- Buffalo Avenue between East New York Avenue and Sterling Place
- Rochester Avenue between East New York Avenue and Sterling Place
- Ralph Avenue between Eastern Parkway and East New York Avenue
- East New York Avenue between Howard Avenue and Utica Avenue
- Eastern Parkway between Howard Avenue and Grand Army Plaza
- Washington Avenue between Sterling Place and Lincoln Road
- Flatbush Avenue between Grand Army Plaza and Caton Avenue
- Ocean Avenue between Empire Boulevard and Parkside Avenue
- Butler Place between Grand Army Plaza and Sterling Place
- St. Johns Place between Underhill Avenue and Grand Army Plaza
- Rockaway Parkway between East New York Avenue and Rutland Road
- Parkside Avenue between Park Circle and Flatbush Avenue
- Bedford Avenue between Eastern Parkway and Empire Boulevard
- Empire Boulevard between Flatbush Avenue and Nostrand Avenue
- Nostrand Avenue between Empire Boulevard and Linden Boulevard
- Lincoln Place between Eastern Parkway and East New York Avenue