T-Vice, TonyMix and SakPase Absent From Labor Day Parade on Eastern Parkway
The WIADCA cites rule violations to explain the exclusion of three Haitian groups, a decision the acts dispute.
Three Haitian groups that had been regulars at the annual Labor Day celebration on Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn will not appear at this year's edition, according to Le Nouvelliste. T-Vice, TonyMix and SakPase Nation will not take part in the 59th West Indian American Day Carnival, scheduled for Monday, September 7 on Eastern Parkway. Their absence has already stirred debate within the Haitian community both in Haiti and in the United States, the outlet reports. According to the West Indian American Day Carnival Association (WIADCA), the three groups were set aside due to failures to comply with the rules imposed on participants. The groups concerned reportedly contest that characterization, according to Le Nouvelliste. In previous years, these acts were among the familiar faces of the event, which draws large crowds of Haitians to the parade route. Le Nouvelliste notes that the report on the reasons behind the exclusion was only partially available to non-subscribers. Further details on the specific rule violations cited by the WIADCA and the groups' formal responses were not fully disclosed in the available excerpt. The celebration remains one of the largest Caribbean cultural gatherings in New York.