Broadway between South 9th and South 11th streets will shut down to traffic this Sunday as the Caribbean Queens Festival returns to Downtown Tacoma for its third year, bringing a carnival-style parade, live music, dancing and a lineup of food vendors that is almost entirely Caribbean-owned. The free, family-friendly event runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Theatre Square, the outdoor plaza on Broadway that anchors Tacoma's Theater District.
According to The News Tribune, the festival is a celebration of island culture and cuisine organized by several local business owners, and it will close out with a parade between South 9th and South 11th streets. Founder Julie Davidson said the event will highlight all of the rhythm and positive energy of Caribbean families, and this year's expanded footprint aims to spotlight Western Washington's diverse communities more broadly, per the same report. Davidson, a University of Puget Sound alumna who graduated in 1996, also founded the Puget Sound Latinx Alumni Union and has drawn student volunteers from the campus group Sin Fronteras to help staff local cultural festivals, according to the University of Puget Sound.
From a Kombucha Taproom to a Downtown Street Party
The festival's roots trace back to 2022, when it began as a small grassroots gathering of Caribbean women-owned businesses at a 6th Avenue kombucha taproom, according to a Tacoma Arts Commission post. It grew into its first standalone public festival in 2024, drawing more than 700 attendees, the post notes. Organizers hope to develop smaller events throughout the year that support Caribbean small business owners and creatives, especially women, the News Tribune reports.
In 2025 the festival joined forces with Savor Fest PNW, which took place in July 2026, before spinning off again to refocus on its island inspiration, per the same account. This year's lineup has an almost 100% Caribbean roster of food vendors, and organizers plan to close Broadway from 9th to 11th streets for the day, the News Tribune's coverage adds.
Meet the Vendors Behind the Menu
Among the featured trucks is Island Vybz, a Jamaican food truck usually parked at 1750 S. Prospect St., which will bring jerk shrimp, goat curry, oxtail over rasta pasta, coco bread and beef patties to the festival. The truck was launched by sisters Tamara Jackson and Lishan Welch, two travel nurses who relocated from Florida to Washington during the COVID-19 pandemic and eventually took over the former Burger Seoul spot at South 19th and South Prospect streets in Central Tacoma, according to the Tacoma Daily Index. The sisters began cooking together during pandemic isolation before securing the commercial permits needed to run a full-time Jamaican food truck, per that report.
Also on the food roster: Trini Plate will serve Trinidadian food, while Trini Street Eats, a new mobile Trinidadian restaurant based in Olympia, will focus on doubles — a chickpea flatbread topped with curried chickpea stew or another seasoned filling. Bajan Station will bring homemade tropical fruit sorbets, and Ma & Pops will scoop fresh-fruit ice pops in pineapple, spicy watermelon, hibiscus, guava and peach tea lemonade flavors. That business was founded after the pandemic by Amanda and Tariq Sahali, who repurposed a farm ice cream truck to make vegan popsicles inspired by their family roots in Trinidad and Tobago, according to Seattle's Child.
Rounding out the food and drink offerings, Luv-a-Latte Espresso will brew coffee drinks and other refreshments, Donut King will fry mini doughnuts to order with dipping sauces, and Lydia Mendez will serve gluten-free, New York-inspired cheesecakes and more. Lisa Bites Kitchen specializes in Kenyan pastries including coconut cake, chapati and bhajia, while Jammin on the One, Island Flava, Hot Babe Hot Sauces and WeBeJamin' Bakery will sell house-made jams, seasonings and sauces, per the News Tribune.
Music, a Costume Parade and Hands-On Crafts
The entertainment lineup has grown for 2026 to include regional Caribbean and Latin performance groups such as Caña Dulce, Steel Rain, Pans of Steel, TUPAC Cuban Dance and Las Molas Association WA, according to a festival listing on AllEvents. Dancing Ting Seattle, Tacoma Capoeira and the Pacific Lutheran University Steel Drum Band will also perform, with a DJ spinning Latin tunes between sets, the News Tribune reports. Rio Babes Samba will spearhead the costume parade that closes out the day, and festival guests can make their own percussion shakers and parade costumes on site.
Beyond the stage, a maker village will feature island-inspired goods from vendors including Sunflower Soul Apothecary's bath and body care, Nikkys Niche's African clothing and accessories, Tlana's Touch's Ghanaian beads and crochet hats, and Lost Luggage Vintage's resort and vacation clothing. Merle Redd-Jones will offer original oil paintings and lithographs, D's Craft Room Creations will sell party favors and crafts, and artist Edgar Martinez will silk-screen Caribbean Queens t-shirts on site. Most vendors will accept cash or card, per the News Tribune's reporting.
City Grants and Tacoma's Diverse Backdrop
The festival's growth has been backed by public money: the City of Tacoma's Events and Recognitions Committee awarded $90,000 in Special Events grant funding for 2026 across 28 community gatherings, including the Caribbean Queens Festival, according to the City of Tacoma. That money comes from tax revenue collected on food and beverage sales at the Tacoma Dome and Greater Tacoma Convention Center, with individual grants ranging from $2,500 to $5,000 per organizer to cover costs like traffic management, marketing and performer pay, the city says. Tacoma also designated the festival under its City Event Services program, which supplies city-funded traffic control, public safety coordination and crowd management from police, fire and public works departments to reduce overhead for community organizers.
This year's planning was also shaped by community tragedy and resilience: organizers dedicated the 2026 event to honoring Mattice Beauty Supply, working with community advocates and city officials to redirect project funding to sustain the celebration, according to BaseLocal. Community leader Chris Hoyt and organizers worked with the city to preserve planning funds after Mattice Beauty Supply's involvement in local planning, the outlet reports.
Tacoma's demographics help explain why the festival has found such a foothold downtown. U.S. Census Bureau estimates project the city's 2026 population at roughly 231,700, with Black or African American residents making up about 9.8% of the populace — more than double Washington state's overall Black population share of 4.3%, according to USAFacts. That makes Tacoma, the second-largest city in the Puget Sound region, notably more racially diverse than many surrounding Western Washington municipalities. Theatre Square itself, located at 915-917 Broadway, is managed in partnership with Tacoma Arts Live and the Downtown Tacoma Partnership and regularly hosts open-air community events alongside the neighboring Theater on the Square and Pantages Theater, according to Tacoma Arts Live. Updates on Sunday's festival are available on Instagram, and co-organizer Abby Woods, also a Proctor Farmers Market vendor, is among the local business owners helping run the show.
