Grenada missed its moment on Eastern Parkway

Commentary by Michael Bascombe

On Eastern Parkway on Monday, Caribbean culture was not only on parade but also being marketed.

The 59th New York Carnival Parade, organised by the West Indian American Day Carnival Association, drew a large street audience, while several New York television stations carried live or digital coverage. ABC7, for example, streamed its broadcast on its website, Disney+, YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook, bringing the celebrations to viewers far beyond Brooklyn. WIADCA describes the event as North America’s largest Caribbean carnival, while ABC7 called it the largest Caribbean cultural festival in the United States.

Several Caribbean destinations recognised the marketing value of that exposure.

Across the broadcasts monitored, representatives promoting Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Jamaica, Haiti, the United States Virgin Islands, and Trinidad and Tobago used their appearances to sell their culture, carnivals, and tourism products. Antigua and Barbuda looked beyond this year, promoting the 70th anniversary of its Carnival in 2027. Its government has already published the festival dates of July 20 to August 3.

PIX11 also included Trinidad-born Michael Manswell as an honorary co-host. Manswell is an award-winning dancer, singer, and choreographer who serves as artistic director of Something Positive Inc. His presence showed how cultural practitioners can help a destination’s traditions secure meaningful space within mainstream broadcasting.

What was not similarly visible was a coordinated Grenadian promotion involving the Spicemas Corporation (SMC) or the Grenada Tourism Authority (GTA).

That does not mean either agency undertook any activity in New York. The GTA has previously conducted meetings and promotions involving New York media, travel advisers, and airline representatives. However, there was no comparable Grenadian pitch evident during the parade broadcasts. If there was an activation away from the cameras, it did not reach the large television and online audience following the parade.

That was a missed opportunity.

The United States remains Grenada’s largest tourism source market, and the GTA itself identifies New York as one of the destination’s key markets. The GTA is responsible for destination marketing, while the SMC’s stated mandate includes promoting and organising Spicemas. Their responsibilities naturally meet when Grenada’s premier cultural festival is being sold overseas.

A proactive Grenadian presence could have included a prepared spokesperson, masqueraders in costume, cultural performers, and a concise television pitch explaining why viewers should choose Spicemas in 2027. Festival dates, travel packages, and a dedicated booking or information link could have been promoted while the audience was already thinking about Caribbean carnivals.

Antigua and Barbuda was selling next year’s festival. Grenada should have been doing the same.

Grenada also has a powerful but underused partner in New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. He is a first-generation Brooklynite of Grenadian heritage, and the Grenada flag regularly accompanies him at major cultural events. His own office used a photograph of him waving the flag in its 2026 parade advisory.

In terms of sustained public visibility, Williams may be Grenada’s most consistent informal marketer in New York. Greater engagement with him should not mean politicising tourism or presuming his endorsement. It could involve seeking his advice, strengthening links with community organisations, and using his office’s reach to identify legitimate cultural and diaspora opportunities.

The wider lesson extends beyond Eastern Parkway. SMC and GTA should develop an annual overseas-events calendar covering Miami Carnival, Caribbean Premier League matches, and selected NBA, NFL, and LPGA events in markets with strong Caribbean communities or useful travel connections. Grenada does not need an expensive presence everywhere. It needs carefully selected activations with measurable objectives, bookable offers, and proper follow-up.

Spicemas also has a strong reputation as a comparatively safe and welcoming summer festival. If SMC and GTA intend to market it as the Caribbean’s safest, that claim should be supported by police, emergency-response, and event data, and then used confidently as part of the festival’s international appeal.

Grenada does not lack a product to sell. It has culture, music, traditional mas, Jab Jab, direct access to a major American market, and a sizeable diaspora willing to help.

What was missing on Monday was the organised pitch.

Eastern Parkway presents this opportunity every year. When the Caribbean has New York’s attention, Grenada cannot afford to remain quiet.