Labor Day Parade, RIP Bob Marley...

For most people Labor Day weekend simply signifies the end of summer, but for Brooklyn this weekend is synonymous with the infamous West Indian Day Parade.  Throngs of people line Eastern Parkway as women and men dance down the street in the colorful costumes of Carnival.  The floats are not shaped into retro cartoon characters or based on children’s movies.  Here, the floats are more like awesome big rigs blaring Calypso, Reggae, and hip hop music to the sea of waving flags in the street.

Like all NYC festivals, vendors are out peddling their wares and selling their food.  Today, that meant that as we enjoyed the music and sights of the parade in front of us, we were continuously pulled around to face the smells behind us.  Jerk chicken, corn on the cob, curry anything, ox tail – Austin had a hard time making any selections.  And, of course, what was there in abundance to wash down all that food?  Why nutcrackers of course, and in a variety of flavors and sizes.

The atmosphere at the parade is electric, as West Indians honoring their various cultures follow the floats and dance down the street to the beat of the music.  And while violence was reported as in years past, that is not the image I would take away from the day.  Brooklyn is the quintessential melting pot, with the food, music, and culture of so many people meshed in one locale.  The Labor Day Parade is a perfect example of why that is such a beautiful thing, and of what makes living in this city so damn fantastic.