NEW YORK LABOR DAY PARADE DRAWS ENTHUSIASTIC CROWDS
By: Hope Wilkos, Writer/Blogger Photographer: George Whylie Videographer: Maxine NolanIt was another year of jubilant festivities as thousands of New Yorkers came together to celebrate Labor Day with the 45th Annual West Indian-American Day Parade.
Crowds flocked to Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn to watch the spirited parade and see the effusive costumes of feathers, frills, sequins, jeweled bikinis and a kaleidoscope of brilliant colors.
The parade was not without its share of well-known celebrities. This year marked a first for a duo of grand marshals. Machel Montano was the youngest at 38 years old and Harry Belafonte was the oldest at 85 years old. Together the legendary recording artists got the revelers going for a day of conviviality. Joining them were 40 masquerade bands for dancing in the streets.
The theme for the parade was appropriately “History, Culture and Unity”.
The parade also signifies the unofficial end of summer and cooler weather is on the horizon. The smell of delicious jerk chicken was in the air and children were seen enjoying ice cream. Faces were painted to represent various West Indian countries’ flags.
City Council Speaker, Christine Quinn, also served as the parade’s grand marshall greeting the attendees and making the day even more special. She joked that this is a day for everyone to get “a little bit West Indian”.
Other politicians came out to enjoy the celebration as well. Mayoral candidate Bill Thompson, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo could all be seen taking in the sights and sounds of the day.
No parade would be complete without the honorable Mayor Michael Bloomberg. In his words, “We do this every year and the parade just gets better and better. It just shows you the diversity of New York, and it shows you why this city is doing better than other cities around the country”.
Everybody got into the true spirit of the day and the music could be heard miles away. Celebrating heritage seemed to be the most common theme for parade goers and there was nothing better than to see a mixture of cultures appreciating a day of acclamation.
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