The Notting Hill Carnival is an early 19th-century Caribbean-inspired street festival held during the bank holiday weekend in August. The event began in 1964 as a way for Afro-Caribbean communities to celebrate their cultures and traditions in the face of poor race relations in London at the time. Today, costumed participants march through the streets playing steel drums and live bands perform on stages along the route. The aroma of traditional Caribbean food—jerk chicken, fried plantains and curried rice and peas—is heavy in the air, and the rum punch flows all weekend.
