Cap-Haïtien marked its 355th anniversary with two main occasions: Rara Fest on Aug. 14, that includes six rara bands within the streets, and a packed Notre-Dame de l’Assomption mass on Aug. 15, the place worshippers honored town’s patron saint, the Virgin Mary.
CAP-HAÏTIEN — It isn’t carnival but, however The Boulevard in Cap-Haïtien was full of Mardi Gras-style revelers. It isn’t Easter but, however worshippers crowded into the Notre-Dame Cathedral.
It is among the solely events that blends the sacred with the festive: Fèt Okap. On Aug. 15, 1000’s crammed the Cap-Haïtien Cathedral for the Notre-Dame de l’Assomption mass, honoring town’s patron saint on its 355th anniversary. Inside, the ocean of sunshine blue and white clothes — colours related to the Virgin Mary — stood out in opposition to the cathedral’s beige partitions.
Mayor Yvrose Pierre and Deputy Mayor Patrick Almonor, together with different officers, attended the occasion. After the mass, worshipers prayed in entrance of Virgin Mary’s statue, holding lit candles.
On Thursday, August 14, the night time earlier than the mass, media group Sakapfèt Okap held the second version of Rara Fest. Six rara bands electrified the streets with their upbeat rhythm. Revelers danced, sang and shouted as they trailed behind the bands.
Town’s anniversary celebrations carried two very completely different moods — Rara Fest’s high-energy avenue revelry on Aug. 14, adopted by solemn prayers on the Notre-Dame mass the following day. The photographs beneath seize each moments:
Members of a rara band throughout Rara Fest on The Boulevard in Cap-Haïtien on Aug. 14, 2025. Photograph by Onz Chéry/ The Haitian Instances. Worshippers in entrance of a collection of candles lit as much as ship prayers to the Virgin Mary in the course of the Notre-Dame de l’Assomption mass on the Cap-Haïtien Cathedral on Aug. 15, 2025. Photograph by Onz Chéry/ The Haitian Instances. Worshippers praying to Virgin Mary, some whereas holding candles, in the course of the Notre-Dame de l’Assomption mass on the Cap-Haïtien Cathedral on Aug. 15, 2025. Photograph by Onz Chéry/ The Haitian Instances. A person wearing a fancy dress product of plastic bottles in the course of the second version of Rara Fest on The Boulevard in Cap-Haïtien on Aug. 14, 2025. Photograph by Onz Chéry/ The Haitian Instances.A dancer holding her skirt throughout Rara Fest on The Boulevard in Cap-Haïtien on Aug. 14, 2025. Photograph by Onz Chéry/ The Haitian Instances. A violin participant in motion in the course of the Notre-Dame de l’Assomption mass on the Cap-Haïtien Cathedral on Aug. 15, 2025. Photograph by Onz Chéry/ The Haitian Instances.Revelers strolling alongside members of a rara band as mardi gras maintain their masks up in Cap-Haïtien throughout Rara Fest on Aug. 14, 2025. Photograph by Onz Chéry/ The Haitian Instances. Cap-Haïtien Mayor Yvrose Pierre (entrance row left) sitting subsequent to Deputy Mayor Patrick Almonor throughout a mass held for town’s anniversary and Notre-Dame de l’Assomption on the cathedral on Aug. 15, 2025. Photograph by Onz Chéry/ The Haitian Instances.Members of a rara band enjoying the drums and a crash cymbal in the course of the second version of Rara Fest in Cap-Haïtien on Aug. 14, 2025. Photograph by Onz Chéry/ The Haitian Instances. The Cap-Haïtien Cathedral was at full capability in the course of the Notre-Dame de l’Assomption mass on Aug. 15, 2025. Photograph by Onz Chéry/ The Haitian Instances. Members of a rara band sporting orange and pink enjoying the drums and a crash cymbal in the course of the second version of Rara Fest in Cap-Haïtien on Aug. 14, 2025. Photograph by Onz Chéry/ The Haitian Instances. A lady wearing white holding up a candle in the course of the Notre-Dame de l’Assomption mass on the Cap-Haïtien Cathedral on Aug. 15, 2025. Photograph by Onz Chéry/ The Haitian Instances. Mardi gras strolling within the streets of Cap-Haïtien throughout Rara Fest, an occasion held as a part of the celebrations of town’s anniversary. Photograph by Onz Chéry/ The Haitian Instances. A lady praying together with her palm on her chest in the course of the Notre-Dame de l’Assomption mass on the Cap-Haïtien Cathedral on Aug. 15, 2025. Photograph by Onz Chéry/ The Haitian Instances. A priest holding up a bible earlier than strolling as much as the altar on the Cap-Haïtien Cathedral in the course of the Notre-Dame de l’Assomption mass on Aug. 15, 2025. Photograph by Onz Chéry/ The Haitian Instances.
