Hundreds celebrate Caribbean heritage at Carnival festival
Hundreds of people gathered at the Brooklyn Central Library for a Carnival festival in honor of Caribbean American Heritage Month.
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Hundreds of people gathered at the Brooklyn Central Library in Prospect Park on Sunday for a Carnival festival in honor of Caribbean American Heritage Month.
There was singing, dancing and a whole lot of unity.
The local nonprofit TropicalFete, which is dedicated to the local Caribbean community, organized the carnival. While one of its goals is certainly to have fun, there was a deeper meaning behind the event.
"Carnival, some of the roots come from slavery and it's a part of emancipation, freedom, and expressing yourself," said TropicalFete President Alton Aimable.
More than 55 performers took the stage, including local teen Collecia James, who plays the six bass.
"It's a steel pan instrument and it has six of them. That's why it's called six bass," she explained.
From the steel pan ensemble to the masquerade costumes, attendees got to feel like they were truly in the Caribbean, if only for a moment in time.
While TropicalFete has been around since 2011, this was only its second time it held a carnival festival.
TropicalFete said it hopes to hold carnival festivals for years to come.
