Carifiesta

Carifiesta (French: Carifête) is an annual Caribbean Carnival held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was established in 1974, and is held in July. The parade was cancelled in the 1990s due to conflict and firearm-related crime. As the situation progressed most of the participants moved to Toronto Caribana. In 2010 the parade was called off due to a legal battle between promoters Henry Antoine and Everiste Blaize , the city of Montreal. This resulted in many groups pulling out and a struggle to maintain a street parade. The organization put in place in 2019 a new liaison: Jason Forbes, who resigned in 2021 because of profit and organization issues. In 2023 The parade was cancelled. The city of Montreal denied funding the parade.^[1] The event is coordinated by the Caribbean Cultural Festivities Association, a nonprofit organization. Carifiesta was established prior to some Carnivals that take place in the Caribbean, for example, Cayman Carnival Batabano. Carifiesta has also been named the largest North-American running Caribbean Street Parade.^[2]

Carifiesta does not celebrate any singular Caribbean culture, rather it is meant to celebrate them all coming together. It features culture, music, art, and carnival costumes.^[2] Many Caribbean people or people of Caribbean descent find that Carifiesta is a way for them to celebrate their heritage away from home.