By Dr. Marie Y. Lemelle for The LA Sentinel
Originally published Sept. 16, 2026
More than 5,000 people filled Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza for a free Caribbean Heritage Festival that brought the colors, rhythms and traditions of the Caribbean to the heart of South LA.
Hosted by the office of Los Angeles City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, the Sept. 12 celebration drew families and community members representing Caribbean nations and the broader African diaspora. Despite the extreme heat, the energy remained high as live music and cultural performances kept the audience dancing and in a festive mood throughout the day.
Mayor Karen Bass welcomed the crowd, joining local leaders and community partners for a celebration that showcased Caribbean culture through music, dance, food, colorful traditional attire, vendors and entertainment.
The afternoon also carried an important message about South LA’s place in the 2028 Olympic Games.
Harris-Dawson announced that Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Mall will serve as a gathering place for Caribbean and African athletes and visitors when the Olympics arrive in LA.
“The Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Mall will be the Caribbean and African headquarters for all of the visiting teams from the Caribbean and from the continent of Africa,” Harris-Dawson told the crowd.
The announcement drew a direct line between a neighborhood with deep ties to the African diaspora and the international communities LA will welcome in 2028.
Cricket returns to the Olympic stage
The Olympic connection carries added significance for the Caribbean community because cricket will return to the Olympic stage in LA after a 128-year absence. The sport made its first and, until now, only Olympic appearance at the Paris Games in 1900.
For many of the countries represented at the festival, cricket is more than an Olympic event. It is woven into generations of Caribbean culture and community. Played in 108 countries, the bat-and-ball team sport features two teams of 11 players taking turns batting and bowling. Its global following is immense, with more than 2.5 billion fans worldwide.
Harris-Dawson underscored the significance of the moment as he looked ahead to LA hosting the Games.
“It will be the first Olympics where we have cricket as an Olympic medal sport,” Harris-Dawson told the audience.
Cricket’s return makes the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw announcement particularly relevant. For Caribbean nations where cricket has long been part of the cultural fabric, the 2028 Games offer an opportunity for athletes and fans to arrive in LA and find a welcoming community with familiar cultural connections.
For South LA, the convergence of cricket, Caribbean culture and the Olympic Games creates an opportunity that extends beyond sports. It positions a community with longstanding connections to the African diaspora to play a visible role as LA prepares to welcome athletes, families and fans from around the world.
Live performances celebrate Caribbean culture
The heat may have been relentless, but it did little to diminish the celebration. Live performances kept festivalgoers dancing as music and cultural entertainment transformed the outdoor gathering into an energetic expression of Caribbean identity.
Among the performers was Eddie Olive, known professionally as “Crazy Eddie,” founder of Caribbean Jems and a Caribbean cultural entertainer from the Commonwealth of Dominica who has entertained Southern California audiences since 2001.
On towering stilts and dressed in vivid Caribbean colors, Olive commanded attention as he moved through the festival. His appearance reflected the theatrical style that has become his signature through more than two decades of performances.
Olive performs both as a solo entertainer and alongside Caribbean Jems performers, bringing Caribbean music, traditions and showmanship to festivals, community celebrations, schools, corporate events and cultural programs. His specialty performances include stilt walking, limbo dancing, traditional Caribbean dance, fire breathing, fire eating, broken-glass walking, the bed of nails and audience participation.
Performing to soca, reggae, calypso, African drumming and steel pan music, Olive has built his career around sharing the culture and spirit of Dominica and the wider Caribbean with audiences throughout Southern California and beyond.
Crenshaw prepares to welcome the world
The festival program also recognized Councilmember Curren Price, Commissioner Jackie Dupont-Walker and participating community and corporate partners. Among those attending was Dr. Harold Ganga, chairman of the Los Angeles Culture Festival® and president of Hollywood Carnival. His presence carried particular relevance as the celebration looked ahead to LA welcoming Caribbean communities, athletes and visitors for the 2028 Olympic Games.
Harris-Dawson acknowledged organizations that helped bring the celebration together, including the LA Department of Cultural Affairs and Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Mall.
For Baldwin Hills Crenshaw, the festival represented something larger than a single afternoon of entertainment. Harris-Dawson’s Olympic announcement offered an early glimpse of how South LA can participate in welcoming the world in 2028.
The community was already demonstrating what that welcome could look like. Thousands gathered despite the heat. Caribbean flags and fashions moved through the crowd while music, dancing and cultural performances reflected the diversity of the nations represented.
When athletes and visitors from the Caribbean and Africa arrive in LA for one of the world’s largest international sporting events, Baldwin Hills Crenshaw will have an opportunity to connect the Olympic experience with the people and cultures that have helped shape LA.
The festival offered a preview of that role. South LA will not watch the world arrive from the sidelines in 2028. It is preparing to welcome it.