Migrating West Indians have brought their traditions and culture to North America. Theirs is a rich culture compounded of elements from Africa, the Middle East, China and the Far East, North and South America, and Europe.

One expression of West Indian culture--Carnival--is practiced from Brooklyn and other eastern seaboard cities, to the Canadian cities of Montreal and Toronto, and across the continent to Los Angeles. The largest and oldest Carnival in North America began in Harlem in the mid-1940s. The Festival was later moved to Brooklyn in 1967 and is run by the West Indian-American Day Carnival Association, Inc.

Carnival has become a commonly shared and much anticipated activity among West Indians who live in North America. It is a time for coming together, a time to greet old friends with a "What's happenin', man?," accompanied by much hugging, kissing, and back slapping. People travel to all parts of the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean; the flow of people is continuous.