Brooklyn's annual festival, parade celebrate Caribbean life and culture
BROOKLYN (WABC) -- More than a million people are descending on Brooklyn's Eastern Parkway Monday for the nation's largest Carribean cultural festival and one of this city's summer celebrations.
Fans were already lining the streets when the New York Caribbean Carnival Parade got underway around 11 a.m.
One couple was getting married on the parade route, others danced, played steel drums, and waved the flags of their Caribbean nations.
The parade features steel-pan and calypso bands in elaborate costumes that march down Easern Parkway from Utica Avenue to a reviewing stand at Grand Army Plaza.
Eyewitness News reporter Phil Taitt is honored to serve as one of the parade's grand marshals.
But as festive as the parade is, the partying actually began hours earlier on Monday, as J'ouvert celebrations kicked off before dawn.
J'ouvert celebrations are a traditional carnival staple that peak by mid-morning.
The festivities involve music from DJs, calypso or even soca bands.
While the music is going on, folks participating often cover their bodies with paint.
The NYPD set up several security checkpoints to ensure the safety of everyone taking part in the parade or attending as a spectator.
Three hundred wands were used to make sure each person was checked.
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