Brooklyn to stage first Trinidad and Tobago Independence Day parade on 30 August
The parade from Church Avenue will be followed by gatherings in Prospect Park and Seaview Park, after Tobago and Grenada held their own heritage days.
NEW YORK, United States. The inaugural Trinidad and Tobago Independence Day parade will take place in Brooklyn on 30 August under the theme “Our Culture, Our People, Our Freedom”.
Presented by J’ouvert International for Arts and Culture and sponsored by Jujuterry, the parade will set off at 2pm from Church and Flatbush Avenues, followed by a picnic in Prospect Park.
Celebrations are also planned at Seaview Park in Canarsie, which runs from 85th to 88th Street. Both events are expected to feature live steel pan and calypso music, Caribbean food and family activities.
Following Jamaica
The event targets nationals of the twin-island nation, which attained independence on 31 August 1962. It follows the first such parade for Jamaica, which became independent on 6 August 1962.
It comes ahead of the West Indian American Day Carnival Association’s Labor Day parade on Eastern Parkway, for which Jamaican deejay Buju Banton and Kees Dieffenthaller of Kes the Band have been named grand marshals.
Tobago and Grenada days
Tobago Day was marked on 23 August with an all-day health and wellness event, “Heartbeat of Tobago”, at Nazareth High School in Brooklyn.
It offered blood pressure, blood sugar and BMI screenings, a “Tobago Sunrise Sweat” exercise session, a left-hand dumpling eating contest and music from Final Bass Gary.
On the same day, Grenada Cultural Festival Group held its annual heritage celebration at South Shore High School Field, serving dishes from Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique during eight hours of festivities.
