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The Queens Carnival Is Still Rocking For The Caribbean After 7-Years In
Far Rockaway
Far Rockaway
By Gail Johnson, Associate Publisher
The Southeast Queens Scoop
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| By Gail Johnson |
Where do you celebrate a Caribbean Carnival in Queens? On the longest big-city beach in the United States, the 7-miles of beach on the Atlantic Ocean, on the Rockaway Peninsula in Downtown Far Rockaway.
The Queens Carnival, formerly the Rockaway Caribbean Carnival, now in its 7th year is a full day of free, family-friendly fun. On the 2nd to the last Saturday in August, the weekend before Labor Day, State Senator James Sanders, Jr. (D-NY), Rockaway Development & Revitalization Corporation (RDRC), REMA 4US, New York Career Training School, City Councilmember Selvena Brooks-Powers and State Assemblyman Khaleel Anderson bring the Caribbean to Queens.
On Saturday, August 23rd, the festivities began at Jamaica Bay and ended on the sands of the Atlantic Ocean. The paint and powder jump-up, kiddie masqueraders from Jewel Jewel kicks off the Carnival in Bayswater Park (7-01 Bay 32nd Street). That starts the parade down the streets of Far Rockaway. Floats filled with friends and supporters are stacked with speakers that fill the air with merengue, reggae, soca, mas, calypso, reggaeton, zouk, ska, dance hall, parang, pichakaree, rapso, punta, cumbia, bouyon, bachata, baithak, gana and bachata.
