By Neil Armstrong

The 33^rd annual Rastafest, a three-day celebration of Rastafari heritage and culture, ended on Sunday in Toronto’s Little Jamaica community.

A multi-disciplinary and family fun event, it highlighted different aspects of Rastafari and Reggae culture through music, food, art and craft, and a symposium. 

Masani Montaque, founder and managing director of Rastafest, said the media launch was held last Friday outside one of the entrances to Oakwood station on the Line 5 Eglinton, for three reasons: some people think there is still construction taking place on the Eglinton line, that the subway station is not open, and she wanted people to know that Rastafest is happening nearby.

“We want to say the LRT is open, come on down, take the train, and don’t worry about parking because that’s always an issue on Eglinton. There’s no construction,” she said, noting that this is the fifth year that Rastafest has been held on Eglinton Avenue West.

Montague said the objective of Rastafest being held there is to bring a crowd into Eglinton West, also known as Little Jamaica, to support local businesses.

Noting that her business place, Studio M, is located on the street, she said while Eglinton is busy with vehicular traffic, there are fewer customers patronizing the stores.

“The stores are struggling; sixteen years of construction took a toll. A lot of stores have closed down, however, now that the LRT is open, we need to see more foot traffic. We’re not getting the foot traffic.”

Rastafest featured artistes Triston Palma, Droop Lion, Korexion, Papa Levy, Levi Conscious, Majestic Warriors, Tonya P, Nkrumah, Mally Bless, Super D, Fada Price, Original Wailers, Ras Yanks, and sound systems.

Two emerging artistes from Jamaica, Vania Colours from Kingston, and Secret Weapon from Ocho Rios, performed for the first time at the festival. Vania Colours, whose birthname is Vania Isaacs, is a Rastafarian singer, songwriter, entrepreneur, chef, and dance choreographer from eastern Kingston.

When he is not performing, Oral Rubie aka Secret Weapon, a graduate of Guy’s Hill High School in St. Catherine, is the creative mind behind Dzee Pottery, a boutique ceramic brand.

Montague said the Friday symposium focused on another aspect of Rastafest beyond the music — “ital food and ital livity.”

Livity is a term used to describe the Rastafarian way of life, embodying principles of love, peace, righteousness, and natural living in harmony with nature and the divine. Ital food is usually natural and plant-based.

There were four presenters on ital food, which Montague said people also called vegan food. “Vegan is what people are used to, but before vegan there was ital food,” she said, noting that it is organic food in which no salt or sugar is added; it is not processed.

The Rastafest founder said the Toronto Transit Commission will hold a neighbourhood opening celebration for Line 5 Eglinton on Saturday, August 29, 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. at Cedarvale station,1300 Eglinton Avenue West. Her 46-year-old company, Masani Productions, will be coordinating the entertainment for them.

#Rastafest #Rastafari #LittleJamaica #Reggae #ItalLivity #ItalFood #EglintonWest #Toronto #CaribbeanCulture #JamaicanCulture #BlackCulture #TheCaribbeanCamera