Although we are nowhere near the Caribbean’s sandy beaches, palm trees and delicious fruits and cuisine, the traveling Carolina Caribbean Culture Festival settled in Columbia from June 4 to June 7.
However, this was like no festival held in Columbia before. The festival hosted a parade, four nights of parties and authentic cuisine.
The main event of the festival was a parade, which left everyone just a bit confused. When the parade began, everyone was seated in the bleachers listening to the music far off in the distance waiting for it to approach, but it never did. In fact, the parade was marching in the opposite direction from the crowd.
In the United States, a parade is a spectator sport. People stand along the sides of the street and watch as trucks, floats and bands march by. However, in the Caribbean, the audience participates. When the parade comes by, people jump in and dance in the street with the performers and music makers.
Although the parade left many spectators confused, it left them with plenty of time to dance to Caribbean music, scope out Rasta-colored clothing and try many countries' types of cuisine.
The event featured cuisine from Trinidad and Tobago, the Bahamas, Jamaica and the West Indies. Festival-goers had the chance to try jerk chicken and shrimp, conch balls and mango chow.
Other than the parade, Hibiscus Entertainment hosted a party every night of the four-day festival. Each event was hosted by a Caribbean emcee and was filled with performances from Caribbean artists and deejays.
Now that the CCCF has visited Columbia, it will make its way to Charleston this coming weekend with a similar sequence of events. For more information on the upcoming Charleston events, visit their website at www.cccfestival.com.