By Mike Finney

DOVER — A taste of life in the warm, colorful Caribbean, as well as its proud culture, will take over downtown Saturday, Aug. 17 as masqueraders, bands and a vendor marketplace take center stage.

The inaugural Delaware Caribbean Carnival is set for Legislative Mall from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., with a parade bringing the islands’ beats down Loockerman Street at noon.

The procession will feature bands with booming rhythms, colossal trucks adorned with music speakers and lively masqueraders, according to the fest’s host, Caribbean Culture Awareness.

“People should expect lots of colors, lots of music. We have costumes, (but) I don’t want to give it all away,” said Evalee Fenty-Marseil, executive director of the group. “I want to save a few surprises, but it’s going to be a sight to see.

“It’s not like a conventional parade, where they just have floats and things. This is more interactive. You can dance. You can hear the music.”

Once the party rolls into Legislative Mall, international and local artists, plus DJs, will take the stage. Some of the performers will be Marzville, Fiyah B, Jadel, Lena Aura and Gwappstar.

“It’s a family-friendly event, and all ages are going to be included, and we encourage everybody to come out,” Ms. Fenty-Marseil said. “It doesn’t matter how young or old — because that is traditionally like (it is) in the West Indies.”

Legislative Mall is already the setting for annual staples like Dover Days and the African American Festival, but Caribbean Culture Awareness is certain the fresh vibe of the West Indies will attract many visitors.

She said her organization has been working on bringing the carnival to the capital city for a long time.

“We’re going to bring the first-ever Caribbean Carnival to the state of Delaware,” Ms. Fenty-Marseil said. “We’ve been working on this now for several years. We’ve been building towards this by doing smaller events all around the state for the past three years.

“I’d say, over the past 20 months, we’ve been steadily working on incorporating a more prominent presence in the state of Delaware.”

She added that the Caribbean Culture Awareness organization celebrated its third annual flag-raising ceremony in June.

At the carnival, which is free to attend, the taste of the Caribbean can also be experienced.

“We have (food) vendors from all over coming,” Ms. Fenty-Marseil said. “This is actually an international collaboration. We have artists coming in internationally; we have vendors coming in from all over the country.

“It is definitely going to be something that has never been done here before and something that we hope will continue for generations to come.”

For information, visit the carnival’s Facebook page.

Staff writer Mike Finney can be reached at 302-741-8230 or mfinney@iniusa.org. Follow @MikeFinneyDSN on X.