Dancing before dawn: J’ouvert brings thousands to Brooklyn carnival celebration

Thousands gathered in Brooklyn on Sept. 1 to dance before dawn in the annual J’ouvert parade.

Kicking off at Grand Army Plaza in Prospect Park under the cover of darkness, New Yorkers partook in the traditional carnival celebration, which saw legions of revelers march down Flatbush Avenue to Eastern Parkway and along Empire Boulevard.

Rubbing oil and throwing paint and powder at one another, partygoers twirled and frolicked in a rush of color and the dawn light. The oil and paint are meant to symbolize liberation while also defying the colonialism of the past.

Attendees smiled and cheered as they reached out to one another with oil-covered hands, bidding each other good tidings.

White t-shirts became soaked with oil, and faces were smeared with it as well. Steel bands pounded on their pans, filling the quiet streets with music.

Photo by Dean Moses

Photo by Dean Moses

Photo by Dean Moses

J’Ouvert itself stems from the French phrase jour ouvert, meaning daybreak or morning, and marks the traditional start of the West Indian American Day Carnival and Parade, a Labor Day-long  lineup of festivities honoring Caribbean culture and a celebration of freedom.

The NYPD made its presence known as it accompanied the J’ouvert revelers with a few officers even getting in on the fun. There were no reports of any major incidents.

The J’Ouvert festivities culminated at Utica Avenue then segued into the West Indian American Day Parade, which began near Lincoln Terrace Park.

The two-mile parade then returned down Eastern Parkway to the Grand Army Plaza and will finish on Monday afternoon at the Brooklyn Museum.

Photo by Dean Moses

Photo by Dean Moses

Photo by Dean Moses

Photo by Dean Moses

Photo by Dean Moses

Photo by Dean Moses

Photo by Dean Moses

Photo by Dean Moses

Photo by Dean Moses

Photo by Dean Moses

Photo by Dean Moses

Photo by Dean Moses

Photo by Dean Moses

Photo by Dean Moses

Photo by Dean Moses

Photo by Dean Moses

Photo by Dean Moses

Photo by Dean Moses

Photo by Dean Moses

Photo by Dean Moses