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.
