Community members gather to celebrate Caribbean culture

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Carifest returned to Rochester for the 38th year on Saturday.

If you were in Rochester’s east end, you probably heard the live music coming from MLK Park. The Caribbean festival features the best the region has to offer, from food to arts and crafts.

“We contribute to Monroe County in every way,” says Cheryl Hayward, the president of the Rochester West Indian Festival Organization. “We contribute to the livelihood and the fabric that makes us the fabric of the City of Rochester, economically, politically — not only in Rochester but throughout the country. This is a way for the community that’s not a part or familiar with the Caribbean culture to come and get exposed and enjoy and taste and maybe make new friends.”

Rochester’s Carifest is western New York’s second biggest Caribbean festival.