On Sunday, a popular metro Atlanta festival was shut down a few hours earlier than scheduled by the Atlanta Police Department.
A police spokesman told Channel 2 Action News that the Atlanta Caribbean Carnival's permit required at least 10 off-duty officers for the annual event, but because organizers couldn't pay for the security, that meant a violation of the contract. So performers, vendors and visitors found the festival in Central Park closing by 5 p.m. instead of later in the night.
Organizers disputed the allegation. One organizer told Channel 2's Michael Seiden that she was prepared to pay the off-duty officers but payment was refused unless it was cash.
A separate festival was also held this weekend — the Atlanta DeKalb Caribbean Carnival in Stonecrest. The first Caribbean carnival in Atlanta was held in 1988, after a group representing several Caribbean islands came together in metro Atlanta. Since then, people have flocked to Atlanta on Memorial Day weekend for West Indian-style carnivals to celebrate the culture.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect an organizer’s statement to Channel 2 Action News and to differentiate between the two separate Caribbean carnivals in metro Atlanta this weekend.
