New York City hosted its first-ever Jamaica Day Parade on Saturday, August 8, in Brooklyn’s Flatbush neighborhood — filling a surprising gap in the city’s calendar of cultural parades. Thousands turned out as the parade stepped off at 11 a.m. from Church and Ocean Avenues and headed north on Ocean Avenue to Lincoln Road near Empire Boulevard.
The streets were filled with:
- Reggae, dancehall, and soca music from DJ Danglez, a Brooklyn-born DJ of Jamaican descent, as the parade’s “star DJ”
- Jamaican food vendors serving patties, coco bread, chicken, rice, and fresh juices
- Dancing in the street, with the whole route designed as a rolling block party
- The route itself was fitting: Church Avenue was recently renamed Bob Marley Way
The parade coincided with Jamaica’s 64th anniversary of independence. Founder Bill Tinglin told Gothamist he was inspired to start it after attending the Israeli Day Parade and realizing Jamaica, with its globally recognized brand in music, food, and culture, had no dedicated parade of its own. He cited the Jamaican saying “Wi likkle but wi tallawah” — a small number of people, but able to create a lasting impact.
A first-ever event that finally gives one of NYC’s largest diaspora communities its own day on the parade calendar.