Let’s celebrate Caribbean carnival

Carmen had been looking forward to Carnival all month and the day had finally arrived.

At school they had been making costumes to wear on their float. They would parade along the streets in the truck with lots of other children from the area, wearing their brightest clothes.

Behind them would be a long, colourful parade of musicians and dancers. On the sides of the road, all the way along, would be huge crowds waving to Carmen and her friends. It was so exciting!

Other children in Carmen’s class had made colourful crowns with feathers and jewels on them. They had big pompoms and streamers to wave around.

Carmen wanted to look extra special. She made a pair of wings that attached to her wrists with ribbons. They were purple and green and glittery, and they sparkled in the sun.

On the morning of Carnival, Carmen got dressed with Mommy. Mommy had put silver beads in both their braids so they would match. Mommy’s outfit was also silver, and she had a huge headdress with long feathers sticking from the top – yellow, red, pink and blue.

Khadija and her dad, who lived next door, were getting ready in their costumes too. They all walked together down the hill towards the square.

They could hear music already. A calypso band were practising on their shiny steel drums. A different band were playing trumpets. Outside Sean’s house, his grandad was plugging in a huge speaker. Out burst the music – it was so loud it made Carmen’s wings shake!

Mommy and Carmen danced down the hill, stomping their feet to the rhythm until a new rhythm from someone else’s speaker found them.

Carmen and Khadija got onto their float. It was a truck with an open back, wrapped up in ribbons and colourful paper. They held on tightly to the side as the procession began, and the truck slowly drove into the square.

Mommy and her friends were right in front of the float, dancing in time with their feathers all swaying to the music.

When they turned the corner, Carmen could see the crowd waiting in the square. Everyone was cheering! They were dancing to the music as each band passed them, dressed in their most colourful clothes.

Carmen smiled until her cheeks hurt, and danced until her feet hurt. Then she smiled and danced some more. Carnival was the best day of the year.

By Jess Connett

Caribbean food has strong flavours and some popular dishes, like jerk chicken, are spicy. You might not want to go too spicy if people aren’t used to this, but you can still explore flavours of the Caribbean.

Try some tropical fruit flavours, like mango, pineapple and papaya. Snack on plantain chips (crisps) and sip coconut water.

If you’ve got time, you could make a fruity smoothie with coconut milk, or cook popular side dish rice and peas, which uses kidney beans rather than peas. 

For more ideas, you could check out the world foods section of a big supermarket, or see if you’ve got a Caribbean food shop nearby.

• Carnivals celebrate Caribbean culture and communities. They happen in the Caribbean and lots of different places around the world, at different times of the year.
• The Caribbean is made up of thousands of islands – some big and some small – with sandy beaches and lots of sunshine. People might have heard of some of the famous islands, like Jamaica and Cuba.
• At Carnival, everyone gets together for an energetic parade with colourful costumes, dancing and music. You might hear reggae music from Jamaica, and calypso music from Trinidad and Tobago, which might include steel drums.
• People will enjoy lots of tasty food too. Caribbean food is full of strong flavours, and it uses different ideas from foods found all around the world to make delicious dishes.
• Other types of carnivals happen around the world too, celebrating different things. They also usually involve parades, dancing and music.

If you’re doing this activity as part of Black History Month, make sure everyone understands that black history is a part of history that people can (and should) learn about all year round. 

This activity has been chosen as it celebrates Black music, food and history.

Black History Month encourages people to think about the contributions, achievements and history of black people, originating in the United States. 

In the UK, we celebrate Black History Month in October. It’s a time to highlight the achievements and people of the Black community, and celebrate their contributions to the UK.