By Stephen Weir Photos by G Medina Maybe this big Mas Band should change its name in April from the Revellers to the Revivers. It has been two long shutdown springs since any Mas bands have held costume launches and opened up Mas camps to construct and sell colourful, skimpy, Carnival costumes and now the […]
By Stephen Weir On Sunday evening, Sunlime Mas unleashed their plans to win big in this summer’s Toronto Caribbean Carnival by staging a private multi-purpose fete. It was part costume launch, part photo shoot and a big thank-you to their volunteers and models who have helped out during the two-year long pandemic hibernation. “I […]
Sadly, on behalf of the Organization of Calypso Performing Artistes (OCPA) we share news of the passing of Canadian calypso icon, John “Jayson” Perez, who died in hospital yesterday. Jayson, as we all called him, was born in Trinidad and Tobago, but made Canada (Hamilton and Toronto) his home many years ago. He was an […]
Toronto Revellers Band Leader and Raptors Assistant Coach, Jamaal Magloire will be hosting its 2022 costume reveal fashion show at 9:00 p.m. EST on Saturday, April 2, 2022 at Edwards Gardens. “After more than two years of being isolated, locked down and at home due to the pandemic, it’s time to explore the world […]
By Brenda Alexander John “Jayson” Perez, calypsonian extraordinaire, passed away on March 29, 2022, after suffering a heart attack on March 22. Jayson was best known for his song “Drunken Sailor” and for his performance to that calypso, in which he often invited the audience to join him and to do their best drunken […]
Brampton debut for the Freedom Mas Band of the Toronto Carnival By Stephen Weir This early bird didn’t get any worms; Johanna Grant, got something significantly better. By holding her new Freedom Mas Band costume launch on Sunday she won bragging rights to being the first Band to hold a launch for Carnival […]
Hot on the heels of the recent Trinidad & Tobago ‘Taste of Carnival’, the Atlanta Caribbean Carnival Bandleaders Association (ACCBA) is preparing to serve a whole buffet of Caribbean culture this May in the center of Georgia’s energetic capital city with the 2022 edition of the beloved ‘Atlanta Caribbean Carnival’. Atlanta Caribbean Carnival’ which has […]
Mas bands are making announcements as well By Stephen Weir “The Toronto Caribbean Carnival is back,” exclaimed special events expert Petronilla Marchan, after she helped Mayor John Tory and City Council announce the return of Carnival and many other major festivals to the city. Mas costumed models, the Face of the Festival and carnival festival […]
The Government of the Virgin Islands has announced that the 70th edition of Carnival Virgin Islands on St. Thomas will be held from April 27 to May 1, 2022. The U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism’s Division of Festivals reports that the official version of St. Thomas carnival will be held under the theme “A […]
Brother Marcus stays back in Toronto to get Carnival Nationz ready for Carnival 2022 This is the first year that Marcus Eustace did not enter a costume in this year’s Trinidad Carnival, which ended last Tuesday. M Eustace has won the King in Trinidad ten times in the last twenty years. The well regarded […]
