Behind the Scenes of the Masquerade: Here’s How This Brooklyn Tour Celebrates the Vitality and Tradition of Caribbean Carnival – Essence

The West Indian American Day Parade, with its elaborate and colorful masquerade costumes, lively soca music and vendors offering a tempting array of Caribbean foods, attracts nearly two million attendees each Labor Day. The carnival celebration, which transforms Brooklyn’s Eastern Parkway into a little slice of the Caribbean, is in its 57th year. But what does it take to pull off this elaborate parade and all the cultural festivities that go with it?

“A Stakeholder’s Tour” participants got a behind-the-scenes look at the different elements and people that make Carnival special, from the J’ouvert and mas (masquerade) costumes to the steel drum bands. “It’s these kinds of gatherings that keep our culture alive, and we need to instill that in the next generation,” said Rondy McIntosh, Consul General of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to the United States, speaking of the cultural and social significance of the event.

The five-hour tour was organized by Hazra Ali, a member of Mayor Eric Adams’ Caribbean Advisory Board and this year’s West Indian Day parade grand marshal. The tour, conducted in partnership with the NYPD (Brooklyn South Patrol), was also intended to help improve the relationship between the carnival community and the police. Historically, Ali said, the relationship between the NYPD and the panyards has been largely negative, exacerbated by neighbors unfamiliar with steel bands calling the police to complain about noise during the exercises. But by working with community stakeholders in the carnival space, the NYPD can be an ally to the community.

Ali gave an example: If someone complains about noise at 11 p.m., the police can explain, “We’re letting them go until midnight because there’s a Panorama competition tomorrow.” Such cultural understanding is key to maintaining carnival traditions in a rapidly changing neighborhood.

The first stop on the tour was 2J & Friends, home of the band J’ouvert. In this case, it was a literal house, located on a residential street where no one had any idea what creative costume show was waiting in the backyard. J’ouvert, which means dawn in French Creole, is a celebration that takes place in the early morning hours of Carnival, usually starting between 2 and 4 a.m. (in New York City, it starts at 6 a.m.). During J’ouvert, partygoers typically wear clothes they’re not afraid to ruin, because dousing each other in paint, powder, and oil while drinking wine and jumping behind steel bands and music trucks is all part of the fun.

However, 2J & Friends creator Kendell Julien planned to give J’ouvert attendees a different experience this year with “sophisticated J’ouvert.” He sees it as a way to “incorporate modern styles into an ancient practice,” now that we have access to nicer materials and fabrics that our ancestors didn’t have.

The theme of his J’ouvert costumes is the traditional Tobago wedding, and each costume tells a part of the story. There’s the gorgeous girl of the house, shown with a pot and spoon to signify her role, and the gift bearer, who carries a basket with two pillows. The bridesmaids come in bright pinks and white, as well as floor-length dresses of orange and green. In a humorous nod to calypso legend Sparrow’s song “Obeah Wedding,” there’s also a “Melda” costume in red and black, complete with an obeah (spell) bag. And no Tobago wedding would be complete without the village maccos—those ever-watchful neighbors who can’t help but comment on everything.

Julien’s wedding theme pays homage to J’ouvert’s roots as a form of resistance, where formerly enslaved Africans fought for their right to celebrate freedom: “our J’ouvert is more elegant than the J’ouvert of old, but we still know the struggle. We know the history, so we keep the history alive because we are people of struggle, people of resistance.” He ended on an optimistic note, saying of J’ouvert, “We’ll have a modern part, an old-school part, and we’ll just have the sweetest wedding ever.”

The mix of old and new was also a theme for Sesame Flyers Camp, the tour’s second stop. The first New York Caribbean Carnival celebration in the 1920s was held in Harlem, so Sesame Flyers’ theme this year is a Renaissance Carnival in honor of the Harlem Renaissance of that era. There are three costume sections: Renaissance in silver, representing the past; Divine in pink, representing the present; and AI costumes in blue, representing the future; and a timeless section called the Sesame San Juan Sailors. The traditional sailor costume was introduced in the 1880s after American, British, and French warships arrived in Trinidad and Tobago.

Sesame Flyers has won Large Ensemble of the Year 13 times, but the organization offers more than just pretty costumes. With the motto “Love a Kid Today and Every Day,” it provides youth development programs and supports cultural events throughout the year. Hercules Reid, the city’s youth coordinator in the mayor’s office, who has fond memories of attending the parade as a child, spoke about the importance of Sesame Flyers’ work with community youth and keeping the traditions of Carnival alive: “We all play such an important role in how we continue this tradition, this culture.” He continued, “I want to recognize Sesame Flyers and the great work they do with our youth because it’s about how we raise them in our communities to know our history, to hear our stories, to listen to our music and (eat) our food.”

Speaking of which, Caribbean culture is not something you can just look at, so attendees were treated to doubles and aloo pies, which are popular street foods in Trinidad. They were then treated to a meal by Eddie Charles, lead singer of the popular Trinidadian band Traffik, before heading to the third stop on the tour: Steel Sensation pan yard.

Steelpan players (also known as pannists) filled the air of the PS 66 school playground with the sounds of Farmer Nappy’s popular 2024 soca hit “How Ah Living.” The steelpan has the distinction of being the only new instrument created in the 20th century and the national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago. It is also experiencing a special moment as August 11th marked the second year since the United Nations declared it World Steelpan Day. Reggie Archibald, president of the West Indian American Day Carnival Association (WIADCA), which oversees most of the West Indian Day Parade festivities, said, “Without the pan there would be no carnival, the pan and carnival go hand in hand.”

Reflecting the international scope, musicians from across the Caribbean region participated in the Panorama competition in New York, where several steel bands competed for the title of best band and a $20,000 prize. Recognizing the extensive training and hard work that went into preparing for the event, Archibald announced that all steel bands would receive a participation fee, with a significant cash prize also being awarded to the second and third place bands.

Marc Brooks, captain of the Steel Sensation, expressed his gratitude for the gesture. “Even if the team doesn’t finish in the top three, it’s meaningful to get something for the time, energy and effort you put in,” he said.

Another stop on the tour supported the theme of youth as “the guardians of tomorrow’s culture.” Last year’s Panorama winners, Metro Steel Orchestra, have many young pannists in their band. Ali said, “They’re taking it into the future now that we’re gone; so it’s important that we acknowledge what they’re doing, teach them about it, and celebrate them while they’re doing it.”

There was plenty to celebrate as the young steelpan players put on a stunning performance of soca artist Lyrikala’s “Happy Place.”

Encouraged by their passionate drill master, Jamal Bennette (who serves as the band’s conductor), who told them, “Anyone who comes before us should cry, and anyone who comes after us should be scared,” the kids jumped up and poured their hearts and souls into their instruments. They were rehearsing for the youth competition, Panfest, and Bennette, a Trinidadian who was in town for a few short days, marveled at how the steelpan from “a tiny, tiny country” was inspiring people around the world. As a result, his job was to prepare the players for competition. “I have a lot of enthusiastic kids,” he said.

The enthusiasm was contagious as tour participants raved about the performance. “Seeing young people doing this is like, wow, this is mind-blowing… the sound is electrifying to me,” said Deborah Ferdinand. Others encouraged the children to continue. “We’re proud that you’re embracing this culture,” said Andrew Maloney, chairman of the board of the West Indian American Day Carnival Association (WIADCA).

At the end of the tour at D’Radoes Panyard, the competitors had time only for a few wines and a drink at the bar, as the tour was due to finish after 11pm. Judging by the look of the Panyard, the rehearsal-turned-party was only just getting started, and the four-time Panorama winners and their supporters were enjoying the atmosphere.

Ali plans to continue offering these free tours to stakeholders, and now that other Caribbean entrepreneurs are starting to offer their own paid tours, she supports them, saying, “I think this is the beginning of what I call Caribbean tourism.” In the future, she sees Carnival traditions like steel bands becoming a draw for New York tourists to enjoy year-round. “I love New York is our brand, and it should be something that we as a city should invest in and create as a place where tourists can come and experience it. And it shouldn’t just pop up like three months before Labor Day,” Ali said.