The weekend-long event celebrated Windsor's African and Caribbean communities with cultural programming and live entertainment.
An afternoon of stormy weather did little to deter the Windsor International Diaspora African Festival’s annual parade on Saturday.
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
The weekend-long event, which was struck by heavy showers on day two, celebrated Windsor’s African and Caribbean communities with cultural programming, live entertainment and traditional cuisines.
The parade kicked off just past 1 p.m. to the clap of thunder and boom of music from the travelling speaker systems. While attendance was certainly impacted by the rainfall, many shopkeepers and residents armed with umbrellas popped out to watch as the colourful procession lit up the neighbourhood.
The parade route started at Argyle Road before descending down Ottawa Street and capping off at Langlois Avenue, where vendors selling food and artisan goods were stationed at Lanspeary Park.
Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.
By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.
A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.
The next issue of Headline News will soon be in your inbox.
We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again
Interested in more newsletters? Browse here.
This year, the festival partnered with the Toronto Caribbean Carnival to bring its mas bands and traditions to Windsor for the first time.
“WIDAFEST is obviously a diaspora in Windsor, and we wanted to give it a boost,” said festival organizer and president Chris Alexander. “Toronto (Caribbean Carnival) is the largest festival of its kind in North America. So we decided, let’s do a gathering together to make sure that we can bring the kind of costumes that Windsor does not have.”
