Brooklyn’s West Indian American Day Parade Brings in $300 Million Dollars in Revenue

The 2023 West Indian Day Parade marks the 56th annual carnival celebration. On Monday, September 4, Brooklyn’s Eastern Parkway was a cultural culmination filled with performances from Caribbean artists, food, music, dancing and fun. Restaurants, street vendors and venues were buzzing with activity within the previous week in anticipation of Labor Day.

"It's just an exciting time for the community. This Carnival is one of the largest carnivals in America, but it also brings in $300 million dollars of revenue activity for the weekend, so it's a very exciting time for the Caribbean American community," said Assemblymember Brian Cunningham.

Brooklyn was host to week-long pre-celebrations, including Saturday’s Junior Carnival. Thousands of children gathered to participate in costumes chippin’ on di road to the Brooklyn Museum.

The museum also hosted the Panorama Steelpan Competition on Saturday night. Steelpan bands featuring players from across the globe performed, showcasing Caribbean rhythm and harmony for the judges.

"Steelpan is the music of Carnival…It was created out of the steel drum, out of the 55-gallon oil drum in the 1930s. Since then they've been taking it, tuning it, refining it,” Cecille Ford of the West Indian American Day Carnival Association said.

Monday’s parade kicked off early in the morning with J’ouvert, which is the French Creole word for “daybreak.” Carnival goers could be seen celebrating throughout the day and well into the night.

This is also the first year the NYPD deployed drones for safety. According to Mayor Adams, drones would only be used in response to emergency calls.

It was an epic celebration and perhaps one of the largest post-COVID. The West Indian American community looks forward to bigger and even better celebrations in years to come.

All photos featured are courtesy of Haitian American photographer @Louis_jfoto.