The Impact of Caribbean Festivals on Extra-Regional

Territories
When migrants leave the Caribbean, they carry with them their culture in many
different forms. These cultural practices are integrated into society and evolve into
a showcase of heritage.
This can be seen in the development of Notting Hill Carnival in the UK, Caribana in
Canada, Carnival in Miami and the Labour Day in New York.
These festivals attract a large number of tourists to their respective locales boosting
their economic developments. Hotels, entertainment companies, travel industries,
catering services, costume producers, etc . are all positively influenced hence
providing job opportunities in these sectors.
However, while these Caribbean individuals help economic development in these
extra-regional countries, it must be noted that these migrants contribute to the
brain drain of Caribbean countries i.e educated nationals after using the countrys
resources to be trained leave,to the benefit of other countries and the detriment of
their own.

Notting Hill Carnival

Notting Hill Carnival is an annual event taking place since 1966 in the United
Kingdom.
It started as a show of unity amongst West Indians after slews of racial attacks
(Notting Hill race riots). Traditional Carnival started as show of solidarity by slaves
who first used it as a way to mock their white masters while facing extreme
suppression. As such the Notting Hill Carnival was started by migrants facing
racism, unemployment, alienation and general oppression as a way of both raising
their self-esteem and showcasing their culture.
However, when it first began, the festival was meet with great resistance both from
authorities and racial supremests. Eventually the festival became an integral part
of society, occurring annually.
It has been estimated that the Notting Hill Carnival bringing in about 1,000,000
visitors and approximately 93,000,000 into the local economies as well as a wealth
of job and business opportunities.

Caribana
Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival, still commonly known as Caribana, has
taken place in Toronto, Canada annually since 1967.
Caribana was originally the West Indian communitys contribution to the Canadian
Cantennial and soon became a yearly event. The festival encompasses the entire
Carnival routine, Jouvert, parade of the band and even multiple fetes prior to the
Carnival itself with involvement of the traditional carnival characters(jab-jab, devils,
etc.) and prevalence of traditional Caribbean music (soca, calypso, reggae,
steelpan, etc).
This event brings in approximately 1.3 million visitors and has an overall attendance
of 2 million people, bringing with them a whopping 400 million dollars into the local
economy.

Labour Day in Brooklyn

The Labour Day Parade, also known as West Indian Day Parade, is held annually on
the first Monday in September (American Labour Day), beginning as early as 1947.
This carnival parade is the biggest parade in New york, with 3 million participants
every year. The parade itself consists of elaborate costumes, music trucks and
scores of masqueraders, similar to the Parade of the Bands in traditional Caribbean
Carnival.
Not only is the parade in itself an attraction but along the parade route, vendors line
up selling food, books, art, jewellery, etc. Food especially is a great attraction, with
the sale of native Caribbean dishes such as stewed chicken, curry goat, roti, souse,
salt fish, callalloo and much more. All these showcase and integrate the culture of
the Caribbean in Brooklyn.
Of course, like all shows of cultural diversity in prior times, the parade had
difficulties with establishing itself with the authorities having its license revoked in
1964. Happily, approval for the celebrations as regained a year later, from which it
became a permanent fixture.