The first celebration of Carnival 2026 drew hundreds of children and parents to Emile Griffith Park for an Easter Sunday Children’s Fun Day. It was a day to play, to create, to compete and lavishly spend lots of energy.
Families filled the playground and basketball court shortly after 1 p.m. Young artists dabbed paint onto diagrams of Easter rabbits and eggs.
Others hurled cloth hatchets toward a target a few feet away.
Buckets of chalk and wooden blocks caused others to settle in on the basketball court to build and draw designs.
Young ones soared skyward on the playground swings as a deejay pumped soca music through the speakers. Four contestants for the April 18 Ambassadorial Carnival Queen Pageant took to the stage to introduce themselves.
Families lined up before the popcorn machine to order midday snacks. Division of Festivals Coordinator Kizzey Pinney ticked off the menu of goodies at the free concession. “We have complimentary hot dogs, hamburgers, veggie burgers and chicken nuggets with Tater Tots for the kids,” Pinney said, thanking local vendors for donating supplies. She also thanked a host of volunteers who supervised crafts tables, grilled menu items, served drinks and signed in contestants for the Toddler’s Derby.
Over 30 entries signed up to compete in derby races set up for crawlers and runners ages six months to six years. Many in the crowd stopped what they were doing to gather to see who would win. Calls for entries in the first race produced one competitor — eleven-month-old Arundel Benjamin — who had one smaller challenger, but when organizers heard the little girl could walk, she was disqualified.
Organizers said they would let Arundel go it alone.
Contests and presentations took place amid a joyful bedlam of hoop tossers, hopscotch hoppers, and playful pugilists bashing each other with club-shaped balloons.
Rains sprinkled the crowd as the highlight of the day — an Easter Egg Hunt — spilled out across the Griffith Park Ballfield.
Division of Festivals Director Ian Turnbull milled around the scene, inspecting snack boxes, talking to guests, and diverting a happy toddler speeding toward an exit.
Asked if he thought the rest of Carnival would go as smoothly as the Easter fun day, Turnbull said, “I hope so.”
