At Carnival, Colors of the Caribbean

Aaron Fletcher from Orlando waves the flag of his native Grenada, during the 11th annual Caribbean festival at Vinoy Park on Sunday, where hundreds of people from all backgrounds gathered to celebrate the festival and enjoyed a steel band competition, food and live performances.

Soca seemed the music of choice during the St. Petersburg Carnival Parade, though the loud music and the festive atmosphere were lost on Marcus Jordan, left, who enjoyed a nap during the procession, as Trinidadian Carnival reveler Bebia Gremli from Tampa walks by. Today, Carnivals are celebrated throughout the Caribbean: in Barbados, Jamaica, Grenada, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, Virgin Islands, St. Martin; in Central and South America in Belize, Panama and Brazil; and in large cities in Canada and the U.S. where Caribbean people have settled.

Kishimah Drummond from St. Petersburg tries to stay cool while listening to the Steel Band competition. Temperatures rose to 94 degrees on June 13.

Claudius Hyatt, originally from Jamaica, came to St. Petersburg from Brooklyn, N.Y., to pitch a tent at the carnival and sell CDs, but as nightfall approached, he was forced to hold up his tent, as a storm started raging.

Nya Stewart of Trinidad, now living in Orlando, participated in the Carnival parade, which started at Bayfront Arena and ended at Vinoy Park. The origins of the Caribbean Carnival are unclear, but one version, which has found widespread consent, is the arrival of French settlers in 1797 to the island of Trinidad. The first Trinidad Carnival was celebrated in 1838, just after slavery was abolished on the island, and was heavily influenced by Afro-Caribbean culture.

Icons of reggae music line the wall where Kasha Alexander, 15, relaxes for a few moments between customers. Alexander and her mother, Patty, set up a booth selling items from their store, The Kingdome in Tampa.