Boston’s Caribbean community, donning bright, exquisite costumes of crowns, feathers, masks, and rhinestones danced and sang along the streets of Roxbury and Dorchester as a strong police presence kept watch over the celebration.
“I always feel safe,” Montserrat native Jadine Greenaway told the Herald Saturday afternoon as she prepared for the city’s annual Caribbean parade. “The Boston police officers do a wonderful job, they are out here, they’re smiling like they’re confident. The Boston EMS are out here. Everyone is here to make sure we have a wonderful day.”
“Boston is my second home,” Greenaway said. “Why wouldn’t I feel safe here?”
Last year’s Caribbean Carnival was marred by a mass shooting that left eight people injured, leading to concerns and calls for an increased police presence to ensure the safety of all participants, spectators, and the community at large.
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Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox responded to those concerns, changing the route for the morning J’ouvert parade, where last year’s shooting took place, and pledging aggressive enforcement and support from state police.
The J’ouvert parade, which started at 6 a.m. and took place exclusively on Circuit Drive in Franklin Park, went off without a hitch, said Shirley Shillingford, who has served as president of Boston Caribbean Carnival for 34 years.
“So far, it has started out good, and we are hoping it continues,” Shillingford, a Jamaican native, told the Herald. “All of the police have been wonderful. We could have never asked better of them.”
Boston Police made at least 15 arrests and recovered about nine firearms during the day’s festivities, Sgt. Det. John Boyle told the Herald Saturday evening.
Addressing the issues that have occurred at the Caribbean Carnival celebrations in past years, Cox said Friday there would be “zero-tolerance for any kind of violence whatsoever.”
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The Carnival celebration is considered to be “family-friendly,” he said, meaning that no weapons, including permitted guns, would be allowed. Cox also urged residents to call police to report any neighbors holding late- or overnight parties, which the commissioner said have led to problems in past years.
Greenaway, 46, has come to the Carnival ever since she was a 16-year-old, having immigrated from Montserrat at age 8. This year, she helped design costumes for the Boston Socaholics, a band that plays music she described as the “R&B of the West Indies.”
“It’s my ability, and our ability, as Caribbean people,” said Greenaway, wearing rhinestones and a purple-and-gold costume, “to showcase our artistry, to showcase our culture, our music, and really show how much spirit we have, how free we are, how we embrace life as it is, and we take time to truly enjoy life.”
Last Sunday evening, five people were shot inside Franklin Park, an incident that Cox described as a “heinous act” that marred the end of the Dominican festival. All of the injuries appear to be non-life-threatening, police said.
Tito Jackson, a former city councilor for Roxbury and Dorchester named the grand marshal for this year’s Caribbean Carnival, pointed out how BPD has told him the city’s “had the safest year so far.”
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“We will not allow one person or one incident to cast a shadow on the wonderful people, on the wonderful community,” Jackson told the Herald, adding he looked forward to feasting on jerk chicken during the day’s festivities. “We will not allow any news outlet to tell who and what we are. We know we are this city, we make up this city, we work hard every day to live here.”
City Councilor Ed Flynn sent a letter to the police commissioner in the days before the Carnival, urging Cox to request “law enforcement assistance of neighboring cities and towns for this weekend with many events taking place across the city, including the Caribbean parade.”
“Everything is going well,” Flynn told the Herald as he arrived to Martin Luther King Boulevard before the main parade started in the afternoon. “It’s about working together and respecting each other. That’s a critical part of it.”
U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-MA 7th District, called the Caribbean Carnival the “perfect capstone” on the heels of having just returned from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
“Let us not forget that this is an incredible contributor to our economy, it makes this a destination location,” she told reporters. “It’s a family-friendly event, a tradition that people who’ve grown up in the city their entire lives look forward to.”
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Photo by Paul Connors/Boston Herald
Anaya Neblett, 14, of Boston, dances in foam shot from a float during the Caribbean Festival Parade Saturday. (Photo by Paul Connors/Media News Group/Boston Herald)
Photo by Paul Connors/Boston Herald
Revelers from Socaholics dance troupe parade along Warren Avenue during the Caribbean Festival Parade Saturday. (Photo by Paul Connors/Media News Group/Boston Herald)
Photo by Paul Connors/Boston Herald
A Boston Police officer scans the crowd during the Caribbean Festival Parade Saturday. (Photo by Paul Connors/Media News Group/Boston Herald)
SMU Mustangs (9-2, 1-0 ACC) at Boston College Eagles (7-4, 0-1 ACC)
Boston; Saturday, 12 p.m. EST
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BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Mustangs -7.5; over/under is 147.5
BOTTOM LINE: SMU aims to keep its five-game win streak alive when the Mustangs take on Boston College.
The Eagles have gone 4-2 at home. Boston College scores 70.2 points and has outscored opponents by 1.2 points per game.
The Mustangs have gone 1-0 against ACC opponents. SMU leads the ACC with 16.5 assists. Kevin Miller leads the Mustangs with 5.7.
Boston College scores 70.2 points per game, 1.0 more point than the 69.2 SMU allows. SMU averages 15.7 more points per game (84.7) than Boston College allows to opponents (69.0).
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The Eagles and Mustangs match up Saturday for the first time in ACC play this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Donald Hand Jr. is averaging 13.5 points and 7.5 rebounds for the Eagles.
Chuck Harris averages 1.9 made 3-pointers per game for the Mustangs, scoring 12.1 points while shooting 45.7% from beyond the arc.
LAST 10 GAMES: Eagles: 6-4, averaging 70.3 points, 33.2 rebounds, 11.8 assists, 4.8 steals and 4.3 blocks per game while shooting 42.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 69.9 points per game.
Mustangs: 8-2, averaging 83.6 points, 38.5 rebounds, 16.1 assists, 7.6 steals and 4.2 blocks per game while shooting 46.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 69.9 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
With snow still falling in the Boston area Friday evening, early reports of the snowfall totals show that several inches have fallen in the city.
The winter storm hitting Boston Friday into Saturday was expected to bring up to six inches of snow, and some places have already seen nearly that much, including Needham and Boston’s Beacon Hill neighborhood, according to the National Weather Service.
The agency said that there were reports of 4-5 inches of snow in Dedham and Norwood as well.
[Winter Weather Advisory Update] We continue to see snow totals increase across eastern MA this evening with some reports of 4-5 inches between Dedham and Noorwood. Here is the latest storm total snow forecast update that includes snow that has already fallen this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/XnvdNmVIDy
We want to see your pictures of the snow in Boston! Send them to shareit@nbcboston.com.
For context, five inches of snow is already half the amount that fell in Boston all of last winter.
Here’s how much snow fell by late afternoon Friday, the most recent snowfall totals shared by the National Weather Service. Explore the Boston-area snowfall total map here.
City/town
Snowfall amount(in inches)
Needham, MA
5
Cambridge, MA
4.9
Beacon Hill, MA
4.8
Dedham, MA
4.5
Westwood, MA
4.5
Norwood, MA
4.5
Walpole, MA
4.5
Newton, MA
4.5
Boston, MA (not Logan airport)
4.4
Brighton, MA
4
Norfolk, MA
4
Allston, MA
3.3
Brookline, MA
3.2
Chelsea, MA
3.2
Rehoboth, MA
3.2
Harrisville, RI
3
Blackstone, MA
3
Somerville, MA
3
Millis, MA
2.9
Vernon, CT
2.8
Weston, MA
2.6
Lexington, MA
2.6
Lexington, MA
2.6
Warwick, RI
2.5
Tolland, CT
2.4
Mansfield, MA
2.3
Grafton, MA
2.3
Cumberland, RI
2.3
Chelsea, MA
2.2
Dedham, MA
2.1
Mansfield, MA
2
Richmond, RI
2
Milford, MA
2
West Warwick, RI
2
North Attleborough, MA
2
North Attleboro, MA
2
Franklin, MA
1.9
Holliston, MA
1.9
Westborough, MA
1.9
Sandwich, MA
1.9
Cumberland, RI
1.7
Lexington, MA
1.7
Providence, RI
1.6
Arlington, MA
1.6
Sturbridge, MA
1.6
Auburn, MA
1.5
North Kingstown, RI
1.5
Narragansett, RI
1.5
Cumberland, RI
1.5
Oxford, MA
1.5
Grafton, MA
1.5
North Reading, MA
1.5
Shrewsbury, MA
1.5
Barrington, RI
1.4
Reading, MA
1.1
Coventry, RI
1.1
Charlton, MA
1
South Kingstown, RI
1
Worcester Airport, MA
1
Snow continues to fall as a storm moves through, and with cold temperatures ahead Saturday, look out for icy conditions. Here’s your First Alert forecast.
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To wrap up the year, Eater Boston polled both local journalists and readers of this site to get their thoughts on the past year in dining: the good, the bad, and the most exciting things to come in 2025. The results have been collected in the following series of posts. (Check out the full archive here.)
Below, we ask: What was Boston’s most exciting — or most infuriating — local restaurant trend of 2024?
“Restaurants keep getting louder and louder, which I really don’t understand. Sure, if you go to a bar or nightclub, you expect them to be noisy, but if I’m out with friends, loved ones, co-workers, etc. to catch up on things while having a burger or a plate of pasta and can’t even hear what they say, what’s the point of even going out?”
— Marc Hurwitz, founder of Boston’s Hidden Restaurants and Boston Restaurant Talk, food/travel writer for NBC Boston/NECN
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“A few years ago, I didn’t think Boston was a particularly good bakery town. We had our standouts, but there wasn’t a strong bakery culture. So it’s exciting to me that now bakeries just keep opening and expanding. I was thrilled to see La Saison will open in Charlestown, and to visit the new Sofra in Allston. And I love that so many specialists are arriving on the scene: Flake Bakery with its pastéis de nata. Valientes Bakery, serving Argentine specialties. French-Asian Niveaux Patisserie. Gluten-free Verveine. Bakey with its babka. And so on. I also think it’s really fun that Flour will open in the Boston Common Concession Pavilion. No knock on Earl of Sandwich, the former tenant, but this feels like a much better representation of this city.”
— Devra First, restaurant critic for the Boston Globe
“I was really excited to see local restauranteurs expanding. I’m thinking about Jamie Bissonette’s two new spots and the recently opened Kaia from Brendan Pelley, plus Baleia from The Coda Group I love seeing local chefs and restaurant groups doing so well.”
— Brian Samuels, Boston food photographer
“I’ll answer both. This has been happening for a couple of years, but for me the most infuriating thing is that almost every restaurant now has to have an Instagrammable “wow” moment. Maybe it’s a dish or a drink with an ornate presentation, or an over-the-top area of the restaurant. I totally get that these things drive diners into restaurants because they build excitement online, but I can’t help but think how annoying the showmanship might be for the staff (especially during a busy service) and designers and whoever else. For the most exciting, I really love that restaurants are embracing non-alcoholic drink programs. Especially with so many non-alcoholic beers and spirits, it’s great to see infusions and cool cocktails that aren’t just sodas.”
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— Nathan Tavares, freelance writer and Eater Boston contributor
“Loved: The amount of one-night-only pop-ups, wine or cocktail events, and chef collaboration dinners that restaurants and bars around town hosted this year. It feels special and fun and is a great way to shake things up creatively every once in a while.
Hated: Neon signs in the dining room with souvenir-shop phrases like ‘It’s 5 o’clock somewhere’ or whatever. Is some vendor giving them out for free? I saw them at way too many restaurants this year.”
— Erika Adams, Eater Boston editor
Reader responses
Over 50 people took part in Eater Boston’s dining survey this year (thank you, all!). Below, find readers’ favorite — and least favorite — Boston restaurant trends in 2024:
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“I still don’t like the “forced tipping” that has become the norm from COVID times. While I understand the theory behind it, I hate feeling like a scumbag choosing the 0% when they flip the Square machine (or terminal) around in places that you never tipped at prior to COVID. While COVID may not be dead completely, the closures and overall hardships endured during that time are — so can we stop shaming patrons into tipping please?” — Greg
“More special events — wine dinners, cocktail tastings, etc., etc. Yes, they’re sometimes more expensive, but they flex the skills of great restaurants, and they add some spice to a weeknight or weekend dining experience. I hope they help out restaurants. Love ‘em.” — Todd
“Boston TikTok restaurant influencing. Really cool and niche spots that have been doing good business for years are being flooded with hoards of patrons who are seeking a viral experience, rather than a cool or good one.” — Annie
“Infuriating — every new restaurant seems designed for Instagram pics of the aesthetic, sometimes at the expense of the quality of the food!” — Jesse
“Glad to see QR codes are on the way out, something about flipping through a paper menu or drink list that just adds to the experience.” — Wes
“Needlessly putting sea urchin on things. It’s not sourced ethically and the population has been decimated in Maine.” — Suzanne
“I’m absolutely OVER speakeasies, they’re overplayed. Bring back swanky lounges with good music.” — Nicole
“‘Everyone wants low-ABV spirits and $14 mocktails!’ No, we don’t. Who are you talking to?” — Rob
“Can we please stop putting fake truffle flavor in every single menu?” — Jake
“Love that more restaurants are offering special prix fixe menus!” — Leanne
“Combined coffee/wine bar concepts! What’s not to love?” — Rupal
“Can’t make reservations or have to plan too far ahead.” — Thom
“Everything is run by massive hospitality groups now.” — Liz
“[Love] upscale versions of Portuguese and Vietnamese food.” — Donna
“Tepid bottles of water sitting on the table.” — Marjorie
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