NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) – The West Indian Day Parade is making its way down the Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn in one of New York City’s largest and most colorful spectacles.
Revelers began the celebration way before the annual Labor Day parade, which honors the culture of the Caribbean islands, kicked off at 11 a.m.
Erron Adams showed up bright and early to make sure his traditional Jamaican dishes, including swordfish, were ready for the crowds.
The parade is modeled on traditional Carnival festivities and features dancers wearing enormous feathered costumes, music and plenty of food. Everywhere you looked were the sights, sounds and smells of the West Indies.
Putting good food aside, Ray Granderson said the day is all about celebrating Caribbean pride and for him it’s a way to pay tribute to his home country of Jamaica.
“It reminds us of where we’re from, where we’re coming from,” Granderson said.
“We’re celebrating our culture,” Sabrina Addison, of Hempstead, said. “As a family we all get together to celebrate it.”
