If you're visiting New York this Labor Day Weekend--or if, as we're told many of you are, staycationing in NYC--the weekend's biggest party is in a place you might not guess first: Crown Heights, Brooklyn.

Nearly three million people are expected to turn out for the West Indian American Day Carnival, a four-day celebration of some of the world's most celebratory cultures. If you're at all interested in spicy food, colorful costumes and calypso (and yes, the four billion other genres of Caribbean music), this is not a festival to miss.

The music-and-food extravaganza takes places behind the Brooklyn Museum, August 28-31, culminating in the main event, the showy carnival parade along Eastern Parkway.

Related Stories:
· West Indian American Day Carnival Association [Official Site]
· Labor Day Non-Travel: Americans Bailing on Late-Summer Trips [Jaunted]
· Labor Day Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: West Indian American Day Carnival Association]]]> BS 2008-08-27T10:03:04-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/8/19/54257/2285

Year after year the same protest goes on in New Zealand: someone tries to ban the Boobs on Bikes parade as an "offensive public event."

And year after year, the courts decide that Boobs on Bikes can go ahead. This year it's an Auckland court saying that since last year over 80,000 people gathered to watch the topless gals (and guys) ride motorbikes through the city streets, it obviously wasn't offensive to everybody.

That means that on Wednesday all visitors to Auckland will probably spot the Queens Street parade, a precursor to the Erotica Expo. Get there early, because those crowds mean it's hard to get a good viewing spot. And there's plenty to be viewed.

Related Stories:
· NZ Court Gives Green Light to Boobs on Bikes Parade [Reuters]
· Boobs on Bikes Ride Again [Jaunted]
· New Zealand Appreciates the Human Form [Jaunted]

[Photo: dgansen]]]> amandak 2008-08-19T09:05:14-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/6/5/103139/7408

Major League Baseball announced plans yesterday for a huge parade to commemorate the last season at the original Yankee Stadium. Major League Baseball Executive VP Tim Brosnan says the event "should and will rival the great parades of New York City history."

The parade will be part of the celebrations for the 2008 All Star Game, which is taking place at the stadium on July 15. Unlike the ticker tape bashes held when the Yankees were actually winning games, this "red carpet parade" will be held in Midtown instead of in the Financial District's "Canyon of Heroes."

The parade will travel along 6th Avenue from 40th to 58th Street. Marchers will include the 2008 MLB All Stars along with legendary baseball Hall of Famers. As far as we're concerned, though, the only real baseball parades should involve a World Series win. These MLB execs can throw all the gala corporate-sponsored events they want and it won't make up for the fact that they're demolishing the House That Ruth Built.

Related Stories:
· Yankees Stadium Celebrating with All Star Glory [NY1]
· Sports Travel coverage [Jaunted]]]> Hunter Walker 2008-06-05T11:00:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/2/5/132626/2933

The New York Giants celebrated their Super Bowl upset today with a ticker tape parade through lower Manhattan. Office workers were hanging out their windows while rabid fans lined Broadway to cheer on game MVP Eli Manning, David Tyree, Justin Tuck and the rest of the team.

While today's was the first ticker tape parade in the city since 2000, they used to be an almost-every-day occurrence. To take a walk through history, you can hike down the Canyon of Heroes, between City Hall and the Bowling Green. Set into the sidewalk are black granite strips with the dates of parades and the people they've honored.

Among the famous folks who've had multiple parades are Charles de Gaulle, Dwight Eisenhower, John Glenn and Amelia Earhart. Adventurer Richard Byrd managed to earn three events with his exploits at the North and South poles. For a full guide to all the history in the area, hit up the Downtown Alliance, which publishes a guide to the Canyon of Heroes.

Related Stories:
· Canyon of Heroes [Downtown Alliance]
· Super Bowl XLII coverage [Jaunted]
· New York Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Swifty]]]> pbb 2008-02-05T13:30:12-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/12/16/51640/684

We can't usually think much beyond midnight on December 31 but it seems that if you're in London as 2008 arrives, you should be aiming to keep yourself fit enough to enjoy the New Year's Day Parade on January 1.

Running for over twenty years and now featuring 10,000 performers, the organizers say it's the biggest New Year's Day event of its kind--we're not surprised, since most people find it hard to get out of bed on January 1. If you can make it to London, though, you'll be treated to marching bands, Charlie Chaplin lookalikes, circus performers and samba dancers, all to be enjoyed with a crowd of half a million spectators.

The parade route runs two miles around many of London's famous spots, and a nice thing about it is that the goal of the event is to raise money for London charities. It sounds like the place to be if you're welcoming in 2008 in London--hangover or not.

Related Stories:
· New Year's Day Parade [Official Site]
· London Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· New Year's Eve coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: thehutch]]]> amandak 2007-12-17T09:15:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/6/11/8443/86185

Who doesn't love a parade? In New York City, parade season kicked off over a month ago with Israeli Day, but that pomp and circumstance paled next to yesterday's Puerto Rican Day Parade. The annual procession crept up Fifth Avenue from 44th to 86th Street, the anticipation of which caused entire subway cars to shout, "Boricua!" (That's what the original inhabitants of the island, the Taino Indians, called themselves.) Ricky Martin (San Juan-born!) presided over the parade as its king and helped NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg (not Puerto Rican) kick it off at 44th Street. Jennifer Lopez (of Puerto Rican heritage, but born in the Bronx) and husband Marc Anthony (also a Boricua born in New York) rode on a float promoting their new movie, "El Cantante," about his compatriot, singer Hector Lavoe.

Stay tuned later this summer for the Gay Pride Parade, Brooklyn Independence Day Parade (who knew they were independent?) and the African-American Day Parade. You never know who you might see -- and let's face it, everyone enjoys a parade except out-of-towners trying to drive along its route.

Related Stories:
· Parades Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Just Jared]]]> egw 2007-06-11T09:24:06-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/6/7/232926/5608

Sunday, Santa Monica Boulevard will close its roadway for the people who patron most of its shops. The Pride 2007 Parade struts down the boulevard from Fairfax Avenue to Doheny Drive starting at 11 a.m.

A poll on the site asks attendees their motivations for attending the parade. It found 25 percent want to end hate, 25 percent hope for marriage equality, 23 percent are looking to find love, 8 percent are prompted by activism, and 4 percent by a love of volunteerism. Finally, 16 percent of attendees are simply searching for the perfect martini, they say. That's 101 percent. Apparently "mastering basic math" isn't one of the incentives.

With Paris chained to her mansion, looks like newly-out former NBA player John Amaechi will take on grand marshal duties this year.

Related Stories:
·LA Travel [Jaunted]
·Hotels in Los Angeles [HotelChatter] ]]> ced138 2007-06-08T11:44:12-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/