ASSOCIATION DES FESTIVITÉS CULTURELLES DES CARAÏBES

Name

ASSOCIATION DES FESTIVITÉS CULTURELLES DES CARAÏBES

Legal name

Association des festivités culturelles des Caraïbes (CCFA)

Website

https://carifiesta.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Short description

CCFA is a Montreal non-profit founded in 1975 that produces the annual Carifiesta Caribbean carnival parade, serving the city's Caribbean diaspora and broader multicultural community through sponsor-funded cultural programming.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Festival Services

NAICS

Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events without Facilities (711320), Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events (7113)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Parades, Carnivals & Street Fairs (MPAGAEAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cultural Festivals & Events Organizations (BPAGAHAG), Community Music & Dance Festivals (Non-Commercial/Local) (MPAGAEAH)

Keywords

• Caribbean carnival events
• Cultural festival organization
• Community cultural celebrations
• Nonprofit cultural association
• Annual parade programming

Headquarters

HQ city

Montreal

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Sponsorship and Support: CCFA operates as a non-profit cultural organization that relies on sponsors and community supporters to fund the annual Carifiesta event. The organization receives support from public partners (government), private partners (businesses like Tru-juice, Holiday Inn), and media partners (CKUT radio).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CCFA produces and delivers the annual Carifiesta parade, a free Caribbean carnival event held on René Lévesque Boulevard in downtown Montreal each July. The organization also coordinates related activities including mas band registration, band launch events, the Junior Carnival youth program, Jamaica Day cultural celebrations, and a volunteer program.

Product overview

ASSOCIATION DES FESTIVITÉS CULTURELLES DES CARAÏBES (CCFA) operates Carifiesta as a single, unified event offering: the annual Montreal Caribbean carnival parade and its associated activities. The core product is the Carifiesta parade itself, supplemented by the Junior Carnival program for youth, Band Launch events for participant promotion, Jamaica Day cultural celebrations, and a Volunteer Program for community engagement. The organization also maintains a Photo Gallery archive documenting past events. The portfolio is event-based rather than software-based, with no platform architecture or digital product modules.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Junior Carnival: A youth-focused carnival program within the Carifiesta event.

Products and services

• Carifiesta Annual Parade The main annual Caribbean carnival parade held on René Lévesque Boulevard in downtown Montreal, featuring colorful floats, traditional dances, exotic costumes, and Caribbean music, gathering 100,000-250,000 attendees.
• Junior Carnival

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 250,000 attendees expected for 36th edition (2011)
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• CKUT RadiominorGTM or Marketing PartnerCKUT 90.3 FM is listed as a media partner of Carifiesta, providing radio coverage and promotional support for the annual Caribbean carnival event in Montreal.
• Tru-juiceminorGTM or Marketing PartnerTru-juice is listed as a private partner of Carifiesta, providing sponsorship support for the annual Caribbean carnival event.
• Holiday Inn MontrealminorGTM or Marketing PartnerHoliday Inn Montreal is listed as a private partner of Carifiesta, providing accommodation sponsorship for participants and attendees of the annual Caribbean carnival.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Notting Hill Carnival: Europe's largest street carnival, organized by a community-led association in London with mas bands, sound systems, and free public access. Closest international analogue to Carifiesta's operating model and sponsorship-funded nonprofit structure.
• Boston Caribbean American Carnival: Annual Caribbean carnival parade in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood organized by a community association. Similar diaspora-led, sponsorship-funded model serving the Caribbean community in a major Northeastern North American city.
• Toronto Caribbean Carnival (formerly Caribana): Canada's largest Caribbean carnival, held annually in Toronto. Direct competitor for Caribbean diaspora audiences, mas bands, sponsorship dollars, and media attention within Canada — explicitly referenced in CCFA materials as the larger peer.
• West Indian American Day Carnival Association (WIADCA): Producer of the Brooklyn-based West Indian American Day Carnival on Labour Day along Eastern Parkway. Comparable Caribbean diaspora parade model with mas bands, sponsorship structure, and free public street event format.
• Miami Broward One Caribbean Carnival: Annual Caribbean carnival in Miami/Fort Lauderdale featuring a parade of mas bands, costume competitions, and Caribbean cultural showcase. Competes for North American sponsorship and Caribbean cultural brand positioning.
• Halifax Caribbean Carnival: Annual Caribbean carnival in Halifax, Nova Scotia, organized by the African Caribbean Cultural Society. Competes for Atlantic Canadian Caribbean diaspora audiences and shares the multicultural parade event format.

Regional players

• Carifesta (Caribbean Festival of the Arts): Rotating Caribbean-wide cultural festival organized through CARICOM in different host countries. Larger-scope regional counterpart focused on broader Caribbean arts programming rather than a single diaspora parade.
• Just for Laughs (Festival Juste pour rire): Montreal-based major cultural festival using a similar nonprofit/community organizing model with sponsorship funding and free street-level components. Useful peer for understanding Montreal festival economics, sponsorship dynamics, and city-permit dependencies.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/MtlCarifiesta
• YouTubeyoutube.com/CarifiestaMontreal
• Facebookfacebook.com/pages/Carifiesta-Montreal/211587135521839

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ASSOCIATION DES FESTIVITÉS CULTURELLES DES CARAÏBES