Rain may have descended onto Eastern Parkway occasionally but the display of brilliant costumes and the joyful revelry of dancers continued at the annual West Indian Day Parade on Monday. While the weather appears to have kept the crowd estimates down a bit from previous years, umbrella-wielding spectators lined the Crown Heights parade route, from Schenectady Avenue to Grand Army Plaza.

The parade tradition started as the Trinidad Carnival Pageant in 1947 in Harlem and moved to Brooklyn in 1969, a few years after New York City revoked the parade permit in Manhattan. Crown Heights has been a center of Caribbean culture in the city since the 1930s, and with the parade move to Eastern Parkway, the festivities expanded to include foods and traditions from other Caribbean islands.

A separately organized pre-dawn street party, J’ouvert, has also became part of the Labor Day tradition. In 2017, the start time for J’ouvert was moved forward to 6 a.m. and security was increased to improve safety.

After viewing hundreds of vibrant images from the day, here are our top Instagram picks.


10. Drumming Joy
[instagram_embedding url=”https://www.instagram.com/p/B179u6opNkT/”]


9. Swirl of Color
[instagram_embedding url=”https://www.instagram.com/p/B17jLF5DEmn/”]


8. Poncho Attire
[instagram_embedding url=”https://www.instagram.com/p/B17Mk2ZBQl3/”]


7. Bewinged Joy
[instagram_embedding url=”https://www.instagram.com/p/B17XdOxDDyX/”]


6. On Fire
[instagram_embedding url=”https://www.instagram.com/p/B174bIFlvn6/”]


5. Standing Tall
[instagram_embedding url=”https://www.instagram.com/p/B17NChfAcMH/”]


4. Camouflage
[instagram_embedding url=”https://www.instagram.com/p/B17Dk6HhGoO/”]


3. Rain Dash
[instagram_embedding url=”https://www.instagram.com/p/B17SnSanJYd/”]


2. Reflecting the Shimmer
[instagram_embedding url=”https://www.instagram.com/p/B17HhEOhEAZ/”]


1. Bold and Brilliant
[instagram_embedding url=”https://www.instagram.com/p/B17V8frFcbi/”]

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