West Indian American Day Carnival 2022

Listen every day at 7am on TPC radio for The Upper Room re-broadcast

L-R: Miss Universe Haiti 2022 Mideline Phelizor and NYC Mayor Eric Adams

L-R: Rev. Al Sharpton and Congressman Hakeem Jeffries NYS Governor Kathy Hochul NY Senator Chuck Schumer

NY Attorney General Letitia James

The theme of this year’s Labor Day Parade was “Life,” said Anne Rhea Smith, a board member of the West Indian American Day Carnival Association, which organizes the parade. “It relates to our pride. How we look at ourselves, how we respect ourselves, [and] how we carry and manage ourselves as a people.” Nearly 600,000 NYC residents of non-Hispanic Caribbean descent, and ultimately over a million people came together on Eastern Parkway for Labor Day Carnival 2022.

The historic community organization dedicated to promoting, developing, and celebrating Caribbean culture, arts, food, history, traditions, and people was founded in 1967. Headquartered in New York City, the West Indian American Day Carnival Association collaborates with the community on programming throughout the year, which culminates with a week-long display of festivities and a grand finale Carnival parade. The organization’s pillars of culture, education, community, and music resulted in over 100,000 participants in masquerade bands and steel bands, 75,000 hot meals to seniors and parade participants, 300,000 pounds of food donations, and 250,000 units of PPE and personal hygienic supplies.