Labor Day Carnival

The Labor Day Carnival, or West Indian Carnival, is an annual celebration held in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Its main event is the West Indian-American Day Parade, which attracts between one and three million spectators [http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/ourbrooklyn/carnival/] who watch the parade on its route along Eastern Parkway. The large parade is held on the first Monday in the month of September.

History

Start in Harlem

Ms. Jessie Waddle and some of her West Indian friends started the Carnival in Harlem in the 1920s by staging costume parties in large enclosed places - like the Savoy, Renaissance and Audubon Ballrooms due to the cold wintry weather of February. This is the usual time for the pre-Lenten celebrations held in most countries around the world. However, because of the very nature of Carnival and the need to parade in costume to music - indoor confinement did not work.

The earliest known Carnival street parade was held on September 1, 1947. The Trinidad Carnival Pageant Committee was the founding force behind the parade, which was held in Harlem. The parade route was along Seventh Avenue, starting at 110th St.

The first Carnival Queen was Miss Dorothy Godfrey. The Committee raised money to finance the parade. They sold advertisement space and boosters, that were printed in a Souvenir Journal for West Indies Day, a booklet which is a memento of that first parade. Mrs. Jessie Waddell Compton is presented in the journal as the person "whose inspiration and enterprise" was owed to the formation of this committee. The committee consisted of Mrs. Waddell Compton-Chairman; Ivan H. Daniel-Vice Chairman; Conrad Matthews-Treasurer; Roy Huggins-Secretary; and Robert J. Welsh-Assistant Secretary. Each member of the committee contributed in helping to organize the parade. The after-parade party, which the Trinidad Carnival Pageant Committee held at the Golden Gate Ballroom (located at 142nd St. and Lenox Ave), was arrainged by James M. Green, another figure who helped make the first Carnival Parade in Harlem a true success.

Violence

In 2003, a man was fatally shot and another was stabbed in the neck. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9803EFD6153CF937A35753C1A9659C8B63&sec=&spon=&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink "Brooklyn Man Held In Killing at Parade"] "The New York Times" October 4, 2003] [McClam, Erin [http://www.heritagekonpa.com/archives/labor%20day%20carnival%202003%20marks%20by%20violence.htm "Violence mars Caribbean parade honoring slain councilman"] "Associated Press" 2003] In 2005, one man was shot and killed along the parade route. In 2006, one man was shot and another was stabbed. However by the 2007 parade the newspapers reported that there was only one report of violence, and that occurred when a man was shot in the leg. [ [http://www.nysun.com/article/61826 "Man Shot Twice At West Indian Day Parade"] "The New York Sun" September 4, 2007] [ [http://gothamist.com/2007/09/04/west_indian_day.php "West Indian Day Parade Dazzles Again"] "Gothamist LLC." September 4, 2007]

See also

*Caribbean Carnival
*Crown Heights, Brooklyn
*Eastern Parkway
*J'ouvert

Further reading

*cite book|author=Manuel, Peter|title=Caribbean Currents: Caribbean Music from Rumba to Reggae|publisher=Temple University Press|location=Philadelphia|year=1995|id=ISBN 1-56639-338-8

References

External links

* [http://www.wiadca.com/ "West Indian-American Day Carnival Association" (WIADCA)] official website
* [http://www.nycvisit.com/content/index.cfm?pagePkey=431 "Maps & Neighborhoods - Brooklyn" ] from the official [http://www.nycvisit.com "NYC & Company"] website
* [http://www.visitbrooklyn.org/calendar.html#sep "Brooklyn NY Festivals, Fairs & Events: September"] from the official [http://www.visitbrooklyn.org "Brooklyn Tourism and Visitors Center"] website