A spirit of One Love rules the day at Caribbean Carnival in Saugerties – The Daily Freeman

SAUGERTIES, N.Y. As Bob Marley and the Wailers once sang in one of the reggae acts most iconic songs, the message of Saturdays Seasoned Gives Caribbean Carnival at Cantine Field was One Love.

Visitors enjoyed Caribbean food from Jamaica, Puerto Rico and St. Kitts and plenty of reggae music. Some danced and still others dressed up for carnival with colorful outfits featuring feathers in the spirit of a true Caribbean carnival.

The festivities kicked off with a small parade of about a half-dozen units that marched down Washington Avenue and Main and Market streets.The longest lines were for food vendors serving Caribbean favorites like jerk chicken and fried plantains.

Martin Dunkley, who co-founded Season Gives with his wife, Tamika Dunkley, said the festival, returning for its third year, represents a great way to celebrate cultures traditionally underrepresented while also allowing everyone to just come together and have a great time and enjoy one anothers heritage.

There are people of all colors here enjoying the event today, Dunkley said.

Tamika Dunkley said the festival fits right in with the Lake Katrina-based Seasoned Gives as it fulfills its mission of helping people, particularly people of color and women starting their own businesses. She said many of the vendors were mentees they worked with.

Martin Dunkley said the music bill featured several local bands that may not have otherwise had an opportunity to play in front of a crowd that was expected to grow into the thousands by the time day was out.

As for why a Caribbean Festival, Tamika Dunkley said Martin Dunkley is Jamaican. And as to why have it in Saugerties, he said they live there.

The return of the festival coincides with Jamaica celebrating the 60th anniversary of its independence in 1962.

Vanessa Hutchins and Witcliffe Cunningham and their 10-month-old daughter, Zoe Cunningham, displayed their Jamaican Pride with entire outfits featuring the Jamaican flag. They happened upon the event by chance while passing through the shopping district in the town of Ulster.

We saw a sign near the Wendys, Hutchins said. I love the activities for the kids.

Among the vendors was Hannah Ferguson, of Kingston, who was showing off her unique bottle dolls, made by placing African Fabrics over bottles destined to end up in a recycling bin or even a landfill. Each featured a unique design with a space and colorful outfits that she said are inspired by the Caribbean and Africa.

She looks like an islander, she said as she pointed out one of the dolls.

As for her inspiration for the dolls, which take her anywhere from half a day to a week and a half to make, she said simply, It comes from God.

I love what I do, Ferguson added. This is not work.

In the next booth, Priscilla Deconti, also of Kingston, had her jewelry, zentangle art and greeting cards on display.She said the colors in the artworks were made with ink, watercolors and glitter pens.

Photos: Third Seasoned Gives Caribbean Carnival in Saugerties, N.Y.

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A spirit of One Love rules the day at Caribbean Carnival in Saugerties - The Daily Freeman