By Stephen Weir Photographs by Stephen Weir Two mas’ men went head-to-head on Saturday night and both came out winners, each in his own way. Toronto Raptors celebrity Jamaal Magloire (Toronto Revellers) and Will Morton (Fantazia) took two different approaches in showing off the costumes that members of their bands will be wearing on the […]
As Toronto Carnival bandleaders start launching their 2019 mas’ presentations, the Caribana Arts Group (CAG) has renewed it call for membership as well as for greater community and youth engagement. In a news release, issued this week, the CAG, noting its priorities, stated that “a strong and stable organization is evidenced by its membership.” It […]
By Stephen Weir Tribal Carnival was out of the starting blocks early Saturday morning night with the first Toronto band launch for 2019. A non-stop parade of stunning male and female models strutted across the Grande Luxe ballroom stage in North York to show an enthusiastic audience what revellers will be wearing on the road […]
Editorial Reclaiming the festival Some people describe The Caribbean Camera as the “Carnival paper.” Of course, we do publish more news about the Toronto Caribbean carnival than any other paper in Canada’s largest city. And for us, Caribana is never a forgotten word. But while we present our readers with a wide range of stories […]
The first Toronto Caribbean Carnival band launch for 2019 will be held on Friday night when Tribal Carnival takes to the stage at North York’s Grande Luxe Ballroom on Bayview Avenue. The mas`presentation, billed as the Caribbean Carnival Runway Show, is scheduled to start at 11.30 pm. This year`s costumes are based on the theme […]
By Stephen Weir Mas’ makers in Toronto are getting ready to put away their parkas and “break out the feathers” as the Caribbean Carnival Band Launching Season is about to begin. No fewer than nine launches will be held between late March and May. And although full details have not yet been released, The Caribbean […]
By Lincoln DePradine The ownership and control of Toronto’s carnival have been a contentious issue between the FMC and community stakeholders of the festival, which began in 1967 as Caribana. The City of Toronto, citing management and financial concerns in 2006, withdrew funding for the Caribbean Cultural Committee (CCC) that had overseen and produced Caribana […]
By Stephen Weir What Calypsonian King Cosmos lacked in skating finesse, he made up for in his singing and his warm and friendly greeting to the crowd which came out on Saturday to watch “Caribana on Ice” at Mel Lastman Square. Wearing all black, except a colourful feathered headdress with matching wristlets and ankle splashes, […]
For the cynics among Toronto’s mas’ aficionados, the reclaiming of the Caribbean carnival by the Caribana Arts Group (CAG) which has been discussed time and time again, has been dismissed as unrealistic – or just so much “ole talk.” It will never happen, many mas’ makers say. As one longtime carnival bandleader put it, the […]
The Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) announced on Friday that it is suspending any pending deportation of native Haitians to their homeland because of escalating violence in Haiti. A CBSA spokesperson was unable to say how long the suspension would last. For more than a week, Haiti has been torn by violent social unrest, with […]
