Sidebar: It is advertised that this festival is on the Scioto Mile. It is not! It is west of the River, south of COSI (Center of Science and Industry).

Much of the festival was centered around music and dancing.

Why did you come to the Columbus Caribbean Festival?

I support anything West African and Caribbean. I am for unification. We are all black. I’m about having fun together. We are not that different. If we came together, more we would be able to see how similar we are. The different types of music are fun. For example, reggae, soca, dance hall, hip hop, and afrobeat. It is all influenced by each other. It is fun to hear the different connections.

Where are you from? How often have you come to this festival?

I’m first generation American. My mom is from Port-au-Prince. This my first year here. I am originally from New Jersey. In New Jersey, we have this every year.

How can this be made better?

Incorporate the Haitian culture and a little bit more of all the islands. There was only one tent that had Haitian food. It was good, but there should be a lot more Haitian food and music here. We have music that you can dance to just like Jamaican music.

Where are you from. Did I see you dancing earlier?

I am originally from Saint Thomas, Virgin Islands, but I drove from Cleveland to be here. If you play soca music, then I will be up and moving around.

It looks like those dancing are shaking everything at the same time.

It’s never too late for soca. It is a whole body experience. Once soca is in your blood, you chase it. It’s like a high.

It seems like, with all that shaking, people would not be fat.

You see how good we eat. When I arrived, I put my chair down and got something to eat before I started dancing.

I talked to Stephanie Bridges at the Columbus Caribbean Festival 2019.

My take on the Columbus Caribbean Festival 2019:  

This is a chill festival. I enjoyed watching those dancing. It is hard to describe. Although I have rhythm, I dare not try dancing for concern of pulling or straining something. It was good to see unity in action. People connecting around the music and dancing.