Caribbean Queens Festival celebrates island culture and cuisine in downtown Tacoma, 915 Broadway on Aug. 16. The family-friendly event is free to attend with a community Carnival-style parade near the end of the day.
Courtesy
Caribbean Queens WA
A Carnival-style parade and Caribbean festival with plentiful food, live music, costume-making and dancing will take over Broadway in downtown Tacoma on Sunday, Aug. 16.
Caribbean Queens, a celebration of island culture and cuisine organized by several local business owners, returns for its third year — this time in its new Theatre Square location. The event runs 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., wrapping up with a parade between South 9th and South 11th streets.
Co-organizer Julie Davidson said the festival will highlight “all of the rhythm and positive energy of our Caribbean families.”
Broadway will be closed to traffic from 9th to 11th, as food vendors selling hot meals, cold drinks and packaged goodies to bring the islands into your own home will line the street.
Trini Plate serves an array of Trinidadian food, including these homemade beef patties, at Tacoma events including Proctor Farmers Market. Owner Abby Woods is a co-organizer of Caribbean Queens Festival. Courtesy Caribbean Queens WA
Abby Woods of Trini Plate, a festival co-organizer and Proctor Farmers Market vendor, also will be serving her Trinidadian delights, while Lydia Mendez of Little Miss Sweets will be there with her gluten-free, New York-inspired cheesecakes and more. Also on the docket:
Trini Street Eats, a new mobile Trinidian restaurant based in Olympia, focused on the signature dish of doubles, a chickpea flatbread with a curried chickpea stew or other well-seasoned toppingIsland Vybz, a Jamaican food truck usually parked at 1750 S. Prospect St., including jerk shrimp, goat curry, oxtail over rasta pasta, coco bread and beef pattiesLisa Bites Kitchen, specializing in Kenyan pastries such as coconut cake, chapati and bhajia (a crunchy spiced potato fritterBajan Station, focusing in this case on homemade tropical fruit sorbetsMa and Pops, featuring fresh-fruit ice pops in flavors like pineapple, spicy watermelon, hibiscus, guava and peach tea lemonadeDonut King, frying up mini doughnuts to order with dipping sauces of chocolate, dulce de lecheLuv-A-Latte Espresso, brewing coffee drinks and other refreshments
To enjoy later, pick up some bottles of sauce, jam and seasonings from Hot Babe Hot Sauces, Jammin on the One, Island Flava and WeBeJAMin’ Bakery.
A “Maker Village” will feature more island-inspired goods, including bath and body care from Sunflower Soul Apothecary, resort and vacation garb from Lost Luggage Vintage, African clothing and accessories from Nikkys Niche, and Ghanaian beads and crochet hats from Tlana’s Touch. You can also pick up original oil paintings and lithographs from Merle Redd-Jones and party favors and other crafts from D’s Craft Room Creations.
Jammin’ on the One returns to the Caribbean Queens festival for 2026. Owner Aisha Newchurch makes jams and jellies in fun flavors from her home base in Puyallup. Courtesy Caribbean Queens WA
Throughout the event, a DJ will spin Latin tunes in between performances by the Pacific Lutheran University steel drum band and Tacoma Capoeira. Other traditional dance groups traverse multiple islands and beyond, from Costa Rica (Cana Dulce Seattle) and Panama (Las Molas Association) to Cuba (Takechi Ruiz) and Brazil (Rio Babes Samba).
The latter group, Rio Babes Samba, will spearhead the costume parade. Davidson highlighted this portion of the event as particularly interactive: Head to several booths to make your own percussion shaker and gather sequins, beads, gems, ribbon, fringe, tulle and more to create your own parade costume (necklaces, headdresses, you name it!). Guests can also buy a Caribbean Queens T-shirt silk-screened in the moment by local artist Edgar Martinez.
The organizers worked hard to curate an “almost 100% Caribbean lineup for food vendors,” said Davidson, who added that they expanded the reach to highlight Western Washington’s diverse communities. “There’s a richness there that Tacoma and the South Sound region can do like no other.”
Last year, the festival had joined forces with Mendez’s Savor Fest PNW, which for 2026 happened in July. Caribbean Queens spun off to re-focus on its island inspiration. Moving forward, said Davidson, they hope to develop smaller events throughout the year to support Caribbean small business owners and creatives, especially women, for whom economic factors can be a major barrier to getting an idea off the ground.
Caribbean Queens 2026 is free to attend and family-friendly. Most vendors should accept cash or card.
Caribbean Queens FestivalBroadway between 9th and 11th (plaza outside Theatre on the Square), Tacoma, caribbeanqueens.netAug. 16, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.Details: food and drink, music, dancing and makers market ending with a Carnival-style parade; free to enter, family-friendly; check instagram.com/caribbeanqueenswa for updates
This story was originally published August 12, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
The News Tribune
Kristine Sherred joined The News Tribune in 2019, following a decade in Chicago where she worked for restaurants, a liquor wholesaler, a culinary bookstore and a prominent food journalist. In addition to her SPJ-recognized series on Tacoma’s grease-trap policies, her work centers the people behind the counter and showcases the impact of small business on community. She previously reported for Industry Dive and William Reed. Find her on Instagram @kcsherred.
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