EchodHaiti.com: Culture: DC Caribbean Carnival 2005

Celebrating 200 Years of Freedom

DC Carnival 2004: Hot Sensational Awesome

DC Carnival 2003:
Roots Rara Style

DC Carnival 2002:
Men Ayisyen Yo!

DC Caribbean Carnival 2005
Toned but Lovely Celebration

dc carnival June 2005__If Black is considered the absence of color; it does not apply to the DC Caribbean Carnival, where multi-colored Black people, dressed in colorful costumes, playing lively music, dancing vividly down the avenue, waving vibrant national flags, gather to celebrate their Caribbean heritage. dc carnival Once a year this mixture of Black people descends on Washington, DC, and marches down Georgia Avenue to the beat of reggae, soca, and calypso, and sometimes konpa.

This year’s celebration was notably different from the previous carnivals. For the first time in many years and after an outstanding showing last year, Haiti had no official organized group representation. dc carnival Unlike the sea of Haitians around the Top Vice truck last year, many Haitians were scattered throughout the avenue, with a flag here, a t-shirt there, and a bandana here and there. The carnival hours were changed, and strictly enforced, to ten in the morning to two in the afternoon, as compared to previous years when the celebration climaxed around two in the afternoon and settled down with the setting of the sun.

The police, the politicians, and the marshals created more of a traditional, stand and watch, American parade atmosphere, rather than a Caribbean, “get behind the big truck,” carnival.

However, it’s hard to keep the Trinis from having a good, and a good time is contagious.The party started

at Crossroads nightclub the night before and continued through carnival morning. Trinidadians from African to Indian complexion danced behind the trucks, some dressed in colors and feathers that would make a peacock jealous. Jamaicans represented with their green, yellow, and black.

DC Carmova; DC Carnival Guyanese flags could be found waving in the air everywhere. Many of the Haitian youth were among the Trinidadian and Guyanese dancers.

The extreme popularity of the DC Caribbean Carnival has caused many changes in crowd control. Whether these changed will affect the attendance of future carnivals remain to be seen, but undoubtedly it won’t stop the Caribbean spirit from celebrating.