Big is not a big enough word to describe this Saturday night’s bandlaunch. Toronto Revellers will be the first “Big” band launch of the 2024 Toronto Caribbean Carnival season as they present “GAIA: Mother of All Life”. If the Revellers sell out the Parkview Manor banquet hall, and apparently, a thousand wannabe revellers will see […]
Celebrating the colourful Caribbean culture and the essence of unity, the forthcoming annual festival pledges an extraordinary experience for individuals from all walks of life. Scheduled for the Memorial Day Weekend (May 26 – 29), the 37th Atlanta Caribbean Carnival eagerly anticipates the convergence of communities, artists, and enthusiasts from the Caribbean diaspora and beyond. […]
By Strephen Weir There it goes! Or are we reading this correctly? Is the annual Toronto Caribbean Carnival King and Queen competition a goner after over twenty years at the Lamport Stadium? Earlier this week, the Festival Management Committee sent out an update on what is planned for this summer’s carnival. A copy landed on […]
By Stephen Weir The people of Iqaluit should call it Arctic Mas after a weekend of Caribbean carnival costumes and live music in the city of snow (and more snow). And there are plans in the works for an Easter weekend redux! Earlier this month, costume maker and carnival leader Thea Jackson borrowed an oversized […]
By Stephen Weir Attention carnival revellers who are also baseball enthusiasts, the Toronto Blue Jays are set to bring a pair of Caribbean special events to Rogers Centre with their much-anticipated 2024 Blue Jays Caribbean Carnival night at the baseball stadium. This marks the third consecutive year for the Blue Jays Caribbean Carnival, scheduled for […]
By Oscar Wailoo I should have known that the Stars were aligned in my favour when, on my way to my first Trinidad Carnival, I cleared Caribbean Airlines check-in, Canadiancustoms, and was sitting at the departure gate at Pearson International Airport in no time flat. The good omen held when we took off on time, […]
It looks like Mississauga’s Black History Month will conclude with a significant event in 2024, set to take place this Sunday at the city’s Small Arms Inspection Building on Lakeshore Road. The Freedom Mas Band is wrapping up the month with the year’s first Carnival costume launch, which they’ve named the Black History Month Carnival […]
You know that spring is right around the corner when Wiarton Willie doesn’t see his shadow,the kid’s snowman is now a puddle and Fantazia starts putting up posters for its Spring 2024 costume launch. The mas’ band is marking its 15th annual launch on April 14th at the Peter N Paul Banquet Hall in Scarborough (Milner […]
By Stephen WeirYesterday, it was a sunny 17 degrees Celsius in Atlanta, Georgia, while Toronto experienced wet and snowy conditions with a temperature of minus 4 degrees. No wonder Toronto’s international costume designer, Thea Jackson, has Georgia on her mind these days. Jackson has recently returned from the Atlanta “Bandlaunch,” where she showcased her latest […]
New Orleans, aka The Big Easy has started its Mardi Gras countdown. New Orleans Carnival, like most around the world, is strongly linked to Christian and Roman Catholic traditions. The season begins on Jan. 6, the 12th day after Christmas, and continues until Mardi Gras, known as Fat Tuesday, which is the final day of […]