West Indian Day Festival
07.09.2010
Out of all the ridiculous parties, parades, and festivals in New York, West Indian Day in Crown Heights is likely the most hectic and delirious sweat-fest of them all. It’s a day of booties popping and titties flopping. If you want to blend in, it’s important to have a flag and a delicious nutcracker (kids* sell them in the street for two bucks a cup) in hand. The air quality at the parade is similar to that of a gas chamber, as blunt smoke mingles with jerk chicken and fish smoke so thick it’s sometimes tough to see three feet in front of you.
In the past, this parade has gotten a lot of flack for being dangerous and unfriendly, but despite some asshole trying to steal my camera and narrowly avoiding some drunk guy’s projectile barf, the overall vibes were happy and welcoming. Here are some photos we took.
Words by Taji Ameen and Cheney Orr
Photos by Taji Ameen, Cheney Orr, and Mike de Leon
*And by kids I mean kids, like 12 years old.
