By Stephen Weir Toronto was buzzing with excitement over the weekend as two of the city’s biggest masquerade bands, Tribal Carnival and Carnival Nationz, held their highly anticipated costume launches. On Friday night, the Grand Luxe hall was transformed into a magical wonderland as Tribal Carnival’s sold-out event with the theme “Once Upon A […]
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Jamaica’s Carnival has become a major tourism driver for the country, with the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) capitalizing on the event to attract even more visitors to the destination. As part of the island’s Sports and Entertainment marketing pillars, the event has seen an uptick in overseas participants, with week-long fetes culminating […]
Listen to this article now. Saldenah Carnival costumes really bears it all…almost By Stephen Weir Saturday night, Louis Saldenah, the force behind the Saldenah Carnival, unveiled his secret plans for what 5,000 or so masqueraders will wear on the road this August. Hoping for hot weather on parade day for the Toronto Caribbean Carnival, because […]
Last year Belleville Caribbean Festival attracted over 7,000 and, with the help of Jennifer Hirlehey the Chair of the Toronto Caribbean Carnival, his summer could bring even more participants in mas bands and more visitors to the city. Jennifer Hirlehey, moved to Belleville last April and heard about Belleville’s first ever Caribbean festival. She headed […]
Section leader: “For 2023 my section is NOT for the weak!” By Stephen Weir It is not as though section leader Thea Jackson didn’t warn people who attended the weekend Revellers Costume launch that her section was going to be an “adults only” catwalk show. In the days leading up to the Park View Manor […]
By Stephen Weir Anthony Berot has already covered two costume launches in the past week, an FMC open house and is already getting his gear ready for a busy, busy April. The EPIC carnival and SunLime launches are in the books and Jamaal Magloire’s Revellers launch at the Grand Luxe coming up this weekend. The […]
Jamaal Magloire, a well-known figure in Toronto’s carnival scene, launched the Toronto Revellers band for this year’s carnival season with a spectacular event titled “It’s Show Time” at Park view Manor. The event featured a 14 sections, each of which looked primed and ready for the road. Partygoers packed the venue, showing their appreciation for […]
Toronto Carnival’s Legacy Band is back and ready to celebrate the festival’s rich cultural history. Produced by Mike Williams and D’ New Regulars Arts & Cultural Group, the newly named community mas’ band initiative aims to encourage goodwill within the Carnival Arts community. The Legacy Band 2023 will honor the founders and original bandleaders of […]
By Stephen Weir The 2023 Toronto Caribbean Carnival is already shaping up to be a big event, with costume launches and preparations well underway. The Festival Management Committee (FMC), which oversees the carnival, has recently moved to a new location and has welcomed some new faces to its leadership team. The FMC’S new headquarters are […]
The first stage of Blackhurst Cultural Centre (BCC) outdoor Carnival Arts’ mural project has now closed. BCC received 18 Expressions of Interest (EOI): 11 solo submissions, five pairs, and two collectives (comprising three or more members). While most of the submissions came from Toronto, others came from Hamilton, Milton, Edmonton (Alberta), Barbados, and one pair […]
