The Caribbean culture parade will make its return to Montreal for its 50th anniversary this summer after being cancelled last year.
The Caribbean Coalition Network of Montreal (CCNM), a group of local community associations representing seven different Caribbean Islands, will be taking charge of the carnival parade and other festivities to celebrate Caribbean culture this year.
It’s being called the 2024 Carimas Festival and is scheduled to begin on June 9 with four events over a four week period. It will feature Ms Carimas beauty pageants, the Petit Carimas junior carnival, a parade for kids, as well as the main parade, the Carimas Grand Carnival on July 6.
After the parade, there will be a family-friendly cooldown gathering in a park with music, games and food vendors called the Carimas Sizzle.
The locations of the events and parade are still to be determined.
The 2024 Carimas Festival takes over from the Carifiesta Parade organized by the Caribbean Cultural Festivities Association. The Caribbean parade was cancelled last year because the City of Montreal denied the organizers funding of about $30,000.
The city official responsible for the file said organizers of Montreal’s Carifiesta festival and parade did not meet certain criteria for funding in 2023.
This year, the CCNM secured a $30,000 grant from the City of Montreal to host their festival, but the organization has also launched a fundraising campaign to raise another $75,000 to help cover the costs of creating the costumes and floats, as well as to support youth involvement, accessibility and community outreach.