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The 53rd installment of Boston’s Caribbean Carnival will be one of gratitude and appreciation – with a side of feathery costumes and Soca beats – according to leaders of the festive event, which steps off from Martin Luther King Boulevard in Roxbury at 1 p.m. this Saturday (Aug. 29).
“We want people to look at this as being hopeful for the future and we want them to be encouraged,” said Shirley Shillingford, long-time president of the Caribbean American Carnival Association of Boston (CACAB).
Shillingford said the theme is inspired by new energy and masquerade groups that have joined the effort over the last year, including some led by younger people. “I look at that with encouragement because we have lost many people lately that used to bend the wires and create the costumes.”
The festivities include the J’Ouvert parade, which will once again be staged on Circuit Drive near Shattuck Hospital starting at 5:30 on Saturday morning. The event was moved to that location to stem disruptions in more residential areas.
In a statement issued Friday, Boston Police said the J’Ouvert Parade will be held entirely inside Franklin Park on Circuit Drive from 6 to 10 a.m. Saturday. Participants will assemble near Shattuck Hospital and travel along Circuit Drive toward Blue Hill Avenue. At the end of the route, all music will be shut off at the Franklin Park Zoo parking lot and parade vehicles will disperse onto Blue Hill Avenue.
Circuit Drive will be closed to traffic and parking from late Friday night, after Zoo Lights closes, through Sunday morning, police said.
“This is the third year on Morton Street and we’re working with BPD Dept. Supt. Nicole Grant on J’Ouvert,” said Shillingford (pictured above). “We were considerate because we’re mindful of people in the neighborhood. People get up early in the morning and have people on their doorstep. We had to change that…You have to think about others.”
The King of this year’s Carnival procession is Kenny Douglas. The Grand Master duties will be handled by state Sen. Nick Collins with state Rep. Brandy Fluker-Reid serving as Grand Matron.
The afternoon procession will begin gathering on Martin Luther King Boulevard at noon, with a ribbon cutting at 1 p.m. led by US Sen. Ed Markey, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, state Sen. Liz Miranda, Sen. Collins, Mayor Michelle Wu, and Councillor Ruthzee Louijeune.
The procession will proceed along Warren Street to Grove Hall and then down Blue Hill Avenue to Franklin Park by 6 p.m. The festival ends at 7 p.m.
A group of 25 masqueraders from Ghana is expected to be featured, as well as a group from the Dominican Republic that premiered last year in Boston.
The positives, though, have continued this year with Envy Mas returning and My Mas group coming out for the first time. That new blood has bolstered what had become an older crowd keeping Carnival going, with some retiring and others passing away, Shillingford said.
“The older people get sick; one of them just died and his funeral is this week,” she said. “He was a mas maker for years until he got sick two years ago. Many fall into that and lose their health and no longer can make their creations, and the young people are not taking up the wand and running with it.
This year’s theme is to encourage more young people to do that – you want to help your culture but what are you doing to help your culture?”
Major funding for Boston Carnival was boosted by a Duck Boat fundraiser in May sponsored by former Mayor Marty Walsh, Sen. Collins, Yankee Transportation, and McCourt Construction, said Shillingford.
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Boston Police issued an advisory on Friday, Aug. 28 that Warren Street will be closed between Dale Street and Blue Hill Avenue, while Blue Hill Avenue will be closed between Quincy Street and American Legion Highway. Barriers will line the parade route and traffic will be diverted.
Parking restrictions will also affect Blue Hill Avenue, Warren Street, Martin Luther King Boulevard, Columbia Road, Seaver Street, Walnut Avenue, Circuit Drive and several nearby streets.
A longer restriction on Talbot Avenue, from Blue Hill Avenue to Bernard Street, runs from Thursday afternoon through 7 a.m. Sunday.
City officials said streets will be cleaned and reopened after the parades. They emphasized that there will be no sanctioned events after 6 p.m. Saturday and said police will enforce restrictions against loitering, large or loud gatherings, reckless driving, speaker cars and off-road vehicles.
“After 6:00 p.m., there will be no additional events, and there will be no loitering in the area,” a police spokesperson said. “We will return the streets to normal to serve the neighborhoods.”
Police said district officers and specialized units will address late-night and overnight activity and warned that weapons, violence and disruptive vehicle activity will not be tolerated.
Copyright © 2026 Boston Neighborhood News, Inc. This content may not be re-published or re-used without written permission.
