During 3 days at the end of July a Flower Carnival - Carnival Des Fleurs, was held here in Port-au-Prince. Hundreds of thousands of people were on the streets to enjoy the festivities. The carnival was held in the Champ Mars area of downtown Port-au-Prince. We went with some of the Coram Deo people to visit the 2nd afternoon of the carnival.
We arrived downtown at 4:00pm and walked to the Champ Mars area.
We got there just as ambulance staff headed to the mobile hospital that was set up along the parade route.
Police/security staff were a heavy presence in the area to control the large crowds.
A band strolled by. The tuba had a duct pipe welded to the end of it. I thought that was a neat arrangement of using readily available supplies for his tuba :)
These instruments the band members are holding are commonly used in rara parades here in Haiti
Vendors were set up along the Champ Mars to sell refreshments and food.
A signboard for a building project in the downtown park. The amphitheatre will be reconstructed for outdoor programs in the park.
This man stopped us as we were walking by and asked us to take his picture.
It was still early and the parade hadn't started yet. We walked around the Champ Mars area taking in the sights.
This stand is the booth sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, a sponsor of the Carnival Des Fleurs
Haitian made straw hats were available for purchase. It was a nice sunny, warm day.
Amos had fun taking pictures as well :)
We had a nice walk along the parade route.
Some people will soon be sitting in these stands specially constucted for those willing to pay for a place out of the sun.
One stand had some finishing touches being put on the artwork.
Sejourne is a Haitian carbonated drink brand. It tastes not bad, but is not as good as Coca Cola!
We saw a crowd by the Digicel booth.
We got a close-in look at the crowd and what people were watching was a karate display by young children.
The swat team was sitting in their vehicle, ready for when needed.
A group of foreign boy/girl scouts walked down the street with a Haitian colleague. The boys/girls scouts were used for crowd control. They helped to hold the ropes separating the crowds from the parade route.
This fancy booth is for the Haitian president, Michel Martelly. This is where he will sit and take in the festivities.
A metal work sculpture of a bike and rider.
Police officers mingled with people in the crowd. It was a relaxing time.
As time wore on more people came to the streets in anticipation of the parades' start.
A musical mural. Haitian artwork is always colorful.
A young man carrying a home made tractor.
We were starting to get hungry as we walked by all the street vendors selling fried food.
This area of the park had souvenir vendors.
Booths were set up hoping that people would buy Haitian made souvenirs.
