By Lincoln DePradine Calypso and soca artistes, like other Toronto Carnival stakeholders, have been negatively impacted by underfunding and the deadly Coronavirus pandemic, which forced the shutdown of the economy and cancellation of large social gatherings. For performers of every genre, surviving and earning income during COVID-19 have involved utilizing online platforms such as Zoom […]
By Bianca Jacob-Stephenson As Covid-19 crept then ran roughshod through the global population, Toronto Carnival came to a halt rendering the festival of masquerade, music, and mayhem mute after 52 years. It is tempting to assume that the hiatus evoked a sense of loss and dread in bandleaders, particularly two of the most prominent masmen: […]
By Lennox Borel The year was 1967. The Caribana Festival was established by the Caribbean Community in Toronto to celebrate Canada’s 100th birthday. It was an exciting panoply of colourful carnival costumes, calypso music, steel band music, Caribbean food, and hundreds of thousands of people of diverse backgrounds enjoying the festivities. The Festival was a […]
By Ian Jones While it does not kill many people, pan crosses international boundaries and pan music is highly infectious – just ask anyone who is exposed to it for the first time. However, the past 18- months have left the world deep in the throes of the COVID 19 pandemic. The consensus of the […]
Bacchus, it is said, was born in the city of Thebes within the Greek region of Boeotia. He was the son of Jupiter, the king of the Roman gods, and Semele, the beautiful daughter of the Phoenician hero Cadmus. The story goes that Jupiter lusted after Semele, and Juno, the queen of the gods, […]
(From Venice to Toronto via Trinidad and Tobago) By Christopher Pinheiro How did people with no formal art or theatre-training arrive at the extravagant playing-out of elaborate character costumes? Have the Carnival-loving citizens of Trinidad and Tobago become visually literate by the very process of spectatorship and participation in “the Mas”? Can the work […]
Despite claims to the contrary, the Festival Management Committee gives about 5% funding to stakeholders In 1997 bandleaders boycotted the Caribana festival and took the parade “Up North” to Markham Fair grounds. This resulted in the festival being taken seriously by Toronto City Hall and, with the help of Lincoln Alexander, the first significant funding […]
The U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism’s Division of Festivals will feature two events for this year’s St. John Celebration on July 3 and 4, 2021. “Love City Food Fair” and “Love Fête” are being held to encourage visitors and residents to experience the festivities safely, while promoting the Division’s “Vaccinate to Party Safe” initiative. […]
The Toronto Caribbean Carnival officially kicked off the 2021 Festival Season with two back-to-back events held on June 15th, 2021. The virtual launch included a media press conference, followed by an Instagram Live Event hosted by news journalist Brandon Gonez, along with a grand prize giveaway to win a 5-night stay for two at Stonefield […]
The theme for this year’s Festival is the history of Carnival in Britain, from the first indoor celebration organized by Claudia Jones in 1959 to last year’s virtual Notting Hill Carnival, with a focus on Carnival Arts, including Music, Mas, Costumes, Photography and more. “WCFF’s programme will draw on the artistic and cultural influences of […]
