Canada-Caribbean artists and musicians to perform at CARIFESTA

Rhoma-Spencer

A group of more than 60 musicians and artists from Toronto’s Caribbean community  will take part in this year’s Caribbean Festival of Arts  (CARIFESTA XIII) to be held in Barbados  August 18-27.

The Canada-Caribbean Carifesta Contingent, as the group is called,” will present in music, theatre, dance, spoken word and storytelling,” said Rhoma Spencer, artistic director of the contingent who heads the Canadian-Caribbean Arts Network. (C-CAN)

Spencer said that C-CAN, a partnership of artists, artistic organizations and professionals, “is tasked  to take Canadian-Caribbean artists to the festival.”

In an interview, Spencer told the Caribbean Camera that the musicians  comprise the largest category in the Camadian contingent.

Three Toronto-based bands – Moses Revolution, Shak Shak and Kobotown – will get together ” to form an aggregate ” at the festival, she said.

“The musicians in the contingent have collaborated with Moses Lewis of Moses Revolution to record his specially composed song, Thank you Canada , which is intended to celebrate and commemorate Canada’s 150th. The song will also serve as the contingent’s theme song,” Spencer noted.

The Canadian contingent includes KasheDance, Children and Youth Dance Theatre, Dwayne Morgan, MOTION,  Pan Fantasy steelband and Canadian calypso monarchs Macomere Fifi and Connector.

Financing for  the Canadian contigent will come from public and private agencies as well as from the fundraising efforts of the participating artists and organizations themselves.

Michael G-A. Lashley, former consul general of Trinidad and Tobago in Toronto, is Chef de Mission and Project Manager.

CARIFESTA was first held in 1972 in Guyana.