2012 New York West Indian American Day Carnival Parade Highlights | New York
Julianspromos was on Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn for the 2012 West Indian American Day Carnival, capturing the Soca, mas and Caribbean culture surrounding New York City’s annual Labor Day celebration.
The 45th annual parade took place on Monday, September 3, 2012, as masquerade bands, music trucks, flags and thousands of revelers filled Eastern Parkway.
For the 2012 road experience, Julianspromos joined Sesame Flyers International for its presentation “Fire & Ice.” Intrigue Lane was on the mic throughout the coverage, while the original footage was shot and edited by Julian C. Hackett.
On the Road With Sesame Flyers
Sesame Flyers brought Fire & Ice onto Eastern Parkway with colorful mas, large individual costumes and Soca accompanying the band throughout the Labor Day parade.
The first surviving Julianspromos video follows the presentation from inside the road experience. Intrigue Lane moves among the masqueraders while the camera captures the costumes, music and atmosphere surrounding Sesame Flyers as the band makes its way along the Parkway.
Unlike footage filmed only from the sidelines, the video preserves Carnival from inside the band, placing viewers among the masqueraders and the movement of the road.
Sesame Flyers ultimately finished second in the Adult Large Band category with Fire & Ice.
The leading large bands that year were:
1st — Ramajay Mas: Wings: We’re Flying
2nd — Sesame Flyers International: Fire & Ice
3rd — Natural Freaks Unlimited: Illusions
Fire & Ice
Sesame Flyers’ 2012 presentation contrasted the visual worlds of fire and ice through Carnival costume and design.
Different sections interpreted the theme through contrasting colors, feathers, materials and larger portrayals, creating a presentation built around heat, cold and opposing visual elements.
One of the standout individual portrayals also came from Sesame Flyers. Daryl Cox won Adult King with “The Black Ice Warrior,” giving Fire & Ice another major result during the 2012 Carnival.
Crossing the Stage
Julianspromos also preserved a second perspective of Sesame Flyers during the parade: the band crossing the judging stage with its Fire & Ice presentation.
While the first video follows Carnival from within the road experience, the second surviving video captures the presentation as the band reaches the stage, providing another view of the costumes and masqueraders during the competitive portion of the parade.
Together, the two videos preserve different sides of the same Labor Day experience — the movement and energy of playing mas on the road and the band's presentation while crossing the stage.
The Sound of Eastern Parkway
Music is another important part of what survives in the Julianspromos footage.
The road highlights feature Soca from artists including Machel Montano, Kes, Benjai, Fay-Ann Lyons, Patrice Roberts, Kerwin Du Bois, Lil Rick, Blaxx and Alison Hinds, among others.
Songs heard throughout the coverage include “Mr Fete,” “Head Bad,” “Where Yuh From,” “Pump Yuh Flag,” “Misbehave,” “I Am Soca,” “Go Dung,” “Bottle of Rum,” “Carnival Jumbie,” “Precision Wine,” “Iron Bazodee” and “Togetherness.”
More than a decade later, that soundtrack helps place the footage firmly in its era, preserving not only how New York Carnival looked in 2012, but what was being heard on Eastern Parkway.
A Special Year for New York Carnival
The 2012 West Indian American Day Carnival marked the festival’s 45th year.
The Labor Day parade traveled along Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, bringing together Caribbean communities from across New York and beyond for a celebration of mas, Soca, steelpan, food, flags and Caribbean identity.
The year carried additional significance as Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica both celebrated 50 years of independence.
Among the parade’s grand marshals were Harry Belafonte, Machel Montano and then-New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.
2012 West Indian American Day Carnival Photo Archive
Beyond the two surviving videos, Julianspromos also documented the Carnival through an extensive collection of original photographs.
Photography by Maria J. Hackett for Julianspromos.
The surviving gallery contains 48 photographs from the 2012 Carnival, documenting masqueraders, costumes, moko jumbies, flags, individual portrayals and moments surrounding Sesame Flyers’ Fire & Ice presentation.
![Sheniele Vivaa Dodson at the 2012 West Indian American Day Carnival Parade [Karma]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6a89f3b0f9f71727bd5f91ae/1788902914625-BB31L8X04G5T1AZYTIY0/2012+ny.jpeg)
The photographs complement the video coverage by preserving details that pass quickly on film — individual costumes, expressions, feathers, colors and moments along the route.
Together, the two videos and 48 surviving photographs provide a broad visual record of New York Carnival on September 3, 2012.
From the Julianspromos Archives
The 2012 West Indian American Day Carnival coverage is preserved as part of the Julianspromos archive of original Caribbean entertainment and Carnival media.
With Intrigue Lane on the road, photography by Maria J. Hackett, and both surviving videos shot and edited by Julian C. Hackett, the collection documents Sesame Flyers’ Fire & Ice from the road through its stage presentation during New York Carnival 2012.
