Lydia DePillis reports from last night’s Georgia Avenue Community Development Task Force meeting, and it looks like the Caribbean Day Carnival parade organizers are throwing in the towel:

“Unless someone is able to wave a magic wand in the next 24 hours, there will be no parade on Georgia Avenue,” Barnes said mournfully. “The reality of the last few years was that donations and sponsorships were in one direction, and costs were in another direction.”

The parade is still about $200,000 in debt to the city, Barnes said, and would need at least that much again in order to put on the parade, which had been scheduled for June 23 and 24. While previous mayors have done what it took to make the event happen, this administration isn’t interested.

“We have seen a 180-degree turn in terms of support for this event,” added the event’s executive director, Loughton Sargeant. “It was only a matter of time before the city was going to pull the plug.”

Still, we wouldn’t be surprised if Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham—who’s pledged his support of the festival despite the debt—helped the organizers work out a last minute deal.

Photo by Matt Dunn