Back in 1967 it started out as Caribana.

By the first decade of the twenty-first century it came to be known as the Toronto Caribbean carnival.

Recently, it was called the Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean carnival.

And now as it gets ready to hit the streets of Toronto for its 50th anniversary, it ‘s called Peeks Toronto Caribbean carnival.

Peeks?

For the uninitiated, Peeks is a Canadian live-streaming  App. The  company –  Peeks Social Limited  – is the  main corporate sponsor of this year’s rebranded Toronto Caribbean carnival.

Mark Itwaru, chairman and CEO of Peeks Social Limited , said that as the Toronto carnival continues to grow, he expects that ” people will soon be talking about the Toronto Carnival in the same breath as they talk about carnivals in Rio and the Caribbean.”

Peeks Social Limited has announced that the Toronto Caribbean Carnival will have a dedicated channel on the Peeks network and users can download the free Peeks app to view livestreams of the event.

At its media launch last Thursday at the Ontario Science Centre in Don Mills, plans were unveiled for the  Peeks Toronto Caribbean carnival 2017 which will run from  from July 7 to August 6.

The grand parade will be staged on August 5.

Theme this year’s  edition of the carnival: “Celebrating Our Heritage: From Then to Now”

Speaking  at the  launch, Ontario Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, Eleanor McMahon,  reminded the audience that ” 2017 marks 50 years for North America’s premier celebration of Caribbean culture, making it one of Toronto’s oldest and most spectacular traditions.”

She said that over the past half century – since Canada’s centennial year – the Toronto Caribbean Carnival has grown to become ” one of the most iconic symbols of the diversity of our province, and a true  celebration of  Toronto” which she described as ” the most multicultural city in the world.”

” We look forward to sharing our expanded and enhanced celebration with the world,” said Denise Herrera-Jackson, the CEO of Peeks Toronto Caribbean Carnival.

The public kick-off for this year’s carnival will take place on July 11 at noon at Toronto’s Nathan Philips Square, where stilt walkers, dancers, musicians and calypso singers will perform in a ” cultural showcase ” of Caribbean talent.

According to a news release from the organizers of the festival, this event  “engages the three stakeholder groups”: Toronto Mas Bands Association, Organization of Calypso Performing Artists, and the Ontario Steelpan Association.

Among the major  events planned for the festival are the Calypso Monarch competition (July 28),  the Carnival Ball ( July 28), the King and Queen contest (August 3) and Pan Alive( August 4).

The list of corporate sponsors/partners of this year’s festival includes: OLG, Toronto Star, CTV, CP24, OneCaribbeanT\/, Virgin Radio, the Federal Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario, the City of Toronto, Tourism Toronto, Grace Kennedy Foods, the Ontario Science Centre, Exhibition Place, Liberty Grande, Malvern Town Centre and Sunrise Restaurants

The Ontario Science Centre which hosted the media launch, has been sponsoring  an “innovation in mas’ award.” for the last seven years.

” We are excited to celebrate innovation in mas’ costume engineering and design.In addition to recognizing innovative approaches, the award showcases the intersection of art and science, demonstrating that science is truly found everywhere.” said Catherine Paisley, Vice-President, Science Education and Experience, at the Ontario Science Centre.