Dominican Day Parades in Queens & NYC

There are Four Dominican Day Parades in NYC & Boroughs

July 23, 2024 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Queens Buzz NYC.

NYC Weather Forecast as of 7.23.24. Generally looking good with no rain in the forecast, the highs in the high 80's and lows in the mid 70's. Winds 5 mph and humidity about average. Update coming with the Friday / Weekend post.

The photo at right was taken at one of the NYC Dominican Parades in NYC in a prior year. The Queens Dominican Parade has already passed as of June 22, 2024. See details below. There are only two more Dominican Day Parades this summer, because the Brooklyn Dominican Day Parade is on hiatus this year, reportedly planning a comeback in 2025.

Queens is Home to a Popular Dominican Day Parade

Dominican Day Parades in the Queens & NYC. NYC has several Dominican Day parades, a couple of which we've previously covered. We've included in this report about the upcoming Manhattan and Bronx Domincan Day Parades in NYC, so that if you missed the one in Queens, there's still time to enjoy the show.

CLICK here for our report on the Queens Dominican Day Parade / Queens Desfile Dominicana of 2024.

Dominican Day Parades in Queens & NYC

There are Four Dominican Day Parades in NYC & Boroughs

July 23, 2024 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Queens Buzz NYC. Continued.

The Queens Dominican Day Parade was on Saturday June 22, 2024. Details regarding the day, time and location of the parade are noted below, as well as the upcoming Dominican parades in the other boroughs of NYC.

The Queens Dominican Parade NYC

The Queens Dominican Day Parade was established circa 2007. The parade organization was incorporated as the Queens Dominican Day Parade, Inc. The parade is in the 17th year of its existence as of June 2024, although they might have missed one or two parades during the pandemic.

The Mission of the Queens Dominican Parade is as follows.

" ... The Queens Dominican Parade celebrates and showcases the rich culture, heritage, and contributions of the Dominican people in Queens and throughout New York City. Apart from the events we host. We also have on going community food pantries and a youth softball team ...".

Dominican Republic - Brief History

The Dominican Day Parade celebrates the Dominican Republic fight for independence which began in 1863 and ended in 1865. The Dominican Republic occupies the east side and over half of the second largest island in the Caribbean [Cuba is the largest], which it shares with Haiti. Both the Spanish and the French occupied the island, hence the two separate states as Haiti in the west was the area generally occupied by the French, and the Dominican Republic in the east represents the area occupied by Spain. The Taino people are the indigenous people of the island.

Today, over 11 million people live in the Dominican Republic, of which about 1/3 live in the capital city, Santo Domingo. The economy of the Dominican Republic consists of agricultural products like sugar, cocoa and coffee, tourism, services and manufacturing.

What You'll See at the Queens Dominican Day Parade

There's a piece written about the Dominican Parade that included some explanation of the costumes worn during it. Here's an excerpt from a Baruch CUNY webpage which they attribute to two sources including the Dominican Parade and the NY Daily News,

" ... the diablos cojuelo (lame devils) who traditionally perform in Dominican Republic's Carnival celebration. The diablos cojuelo wear long horned masks, colorful ruffled costumes, and wield thick bullwhips fashioned out of ropes. The diablos cojueros are a direct reference to the traditions of the Dominican carnival. It is said that one of the reasons the lame devils came to be was because of the difficulties of moving around in the crowded streets during the festivities. For instance the whip and the inflated pig bladder carried by the lame devils were used to ward of the crowds. The themes and the costumes in the parade come from various influences, many of which can be traced back to old religious traditions of the Dominican Republic ...".

The Queens Dominican Parade - Time / Date / Location / Parade Route

* Queens _ Jackson Heights / Corona _ Saturday, June 22, 2024 from 12 noon to 3 pm - The Queens Dominican Parade marches from 69th Street along 37th Avenue and ends at 86th Street and ending sometime between 2 and 3 pm. It's generally followed by a street fair held in the vicinity of the parade ending point. For details see - https://www.instagram.com/queensdominicanparadeinc/?hl=en

Dates / Times / Locations of the Other Dominican Parades in NYC Boroughs 2024

* Bronx _ Sunday, July 28, 2024 beginning at 11 am - Bronx Dominican Parade aka Gran Parada Dominicana Del Bronx - Along the Grand Concourse from 167th to 176th Streets. The main performance stage is at 176th Street on the Grand Concourse where there will be speeches and performances from 11 am to 5 pm. The parade starts at 1.40 pm and the parade / festival ends by 5 pm. For more details see - https://granparadadominicanadelbronx.org [not to be confused with the Manhattan Dominican Parade in August] or FB - https://www.facebook.com/granparadadomincanabx

* Manhattan _ Sunday, August 11, 2024 from 12 noon to 4 pm - Dominican Parade marches up 6th Avenue from 36th to 52nd Street. This is the 42nd year of the parade, which [per their website statement] has collected and given out over $1 million in scholarships since 2015. Street festivals and fairs in Manhattan NYC. For details copy & paste - https://natddp.org

* Brooklyn _ Williamsburg _ They didn't do any in 2022, 2023 and there won't be one in 2024, but they're currently in the process of planning a comeback in 2025. Sunday, August 29, 2021 beginning at 1 pm - The Brooklyn Dominican Day Parade - Marches along Graham Avenue between Debevoise and Broadway in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. There will be a Brooklyn street festival following the parade at Graham Avenue at Broadway from about 3 pm - 5 pm. https://brooklyndominicanparade.org.

Dominican Day Parades in NYC & Other Parades in Queens & NYC

CLICK here for:

The Bronx Dominican Parade and other Bronx parades in NYC.

The Brooklyn Dominican Parade and other Brooklyn parades in NYC.