The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) bills its February evening millennial bash as Shake It. But, Trinidadian Canadian actress and playwright Rhoma Spencer plans to take it up a notch, dazzling, rocking and “carnivalizing“ hipsters who will be taking in the First Thursday party on February 1. Shake It is meant to attract new (and […]
Calypsonian Macomere Fifi (Eulith Woods) was elected president of the Organization of Calypso Performing Artistes (OCPA) at a meeting in Toronto on October 25 last. Other officers elected were: Tara Gonzalez – Vice-President; (Cosmos) Henry Gomez – Secretary and (Webb) Hamilton Alexander – Treasurer. The positions of Public Relations and Marketing and Fundraising are yet […]
A prominent mas’ band leader, a highly talented carnival artist, a Grammy award winner with several soca music hits to his name and a veteran pannist, were among eight persons from Toronto’s Caribbean community who received awards on Thursday night at the FMC (Festival Management Committee) Pioneer Award and Volunteer Appreciation dinner. At this apres-carnival […]
The recent “Caribbean relief and rhythms” benefit performance, organized by the Caribana Arts Group (CAG) in association with the Phoenix Concert theatre, has raised $15,000 to assist several hurricane-battered islands. CAG Chairman Monica Pollard said the funds will be sent to Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Cuba and St. Maarten. She also reported that more than […]
By Lincoln DePradine The Caribana Arts Group (CAG) – formerly known as the Caribbean Cultural Committee (CCC) which organized and ran Caribana –announced on Sunday that it plans to put on a ” Caribbean carnival ” next year in Toronto. “We are planning, in 2018, to create another important platform – a stage, if you […]
By Lincoln DePradine Organizers of the 2017 Peeks Toronto Caribbean Carnival, through their newly hired operations’ manager Gerard Weekes, had promised a no-holds-barred approach to fix the problems that have besieged the festival’s annual street parade. Weekes expressed determination to eliminate the usual “huge gaps in the parade’’; to ensure all masquerade bands get on […]
“Celebration Time” from Louis Saldenah’s Mas-K Club was adjudged ” Band of the Year” at the Peeks Toronto Caribbean Carnival 2017. Saldenah’s band has placed first in the annual competition 18 times and has been a runner-up 12 times. In this year’s Big Band category (bands with more than 750 members) Toronto Revellers was the […]
By Alwyn McGill It was refreshing to see veteran band leaders step up their game for the 50th Anniversary of the Toronto Caribbean Carnival last Saturday. Maybe it was because two week prior to the big ” jump up,” a new band, Venom, won the Junior King of the band title and tied in the […]
LONDON – Police will use facial recognition software to scan the faces of tens of thousands of revellers at this year’s Notting Hill carnival even though civil liberties groups believe such an action would be discriminatory, according to The Guardian newspaper. The Metropolitan Police has described the planned deployment as a pilot project intended to […]
This year the Toronto Caribbean carnival is celebrating its 50 anniversary. Many of today’s mas’aficionados may not be aware of the origins of the carnival which was called Caribana. The following is some historical information about the founders of the festival. The information is taken from original documents dating back to 1967. The group registered […]
