This summer 5,000 revellers will be “unmask” – Louis Saldenah

By Stephen Weir

Louis Saldenah

How fitting.  The Louis’s Saldenah Carnival (formally the Mas K Club) holds the record of 21 “Band of the Year” titles for the annual Caribbean Carnival parade and will be starting their campaign to get Win 22 on, wait for it, April 22nd.

Saldenah recent winner of an Impact Award told the Caribbean Camera this week that the band has chosen Unmasked as the theme for their parade costumes this summer.  They will be holding their costume launch on the fourth Saturday in April at an as yet unidentified location.

Louis Saldenah was born in Trinidad & Tobago and came to Canada in 1970. He followed the footsteps of his father the legendary Harold ‘Sally’ Saldenah, one of Trinidad & Tobago most renowned Carnival band leader.

In 1977, he produced his first Mas band ‘Shangri-la’ which went on to win the coveted Band Of The Year Honours. 

Over the year’s Louis’s development of the Carnival Arts has significantly contributed to the popularity of Mas (Toronto’s “theatre in the streets”) resulting in Toronto becoming host to one of the largest Carnivals in the world. 

This year the Toronto Caribbean Carnival will celebrate its 56th anniversary of the Grande Parade which was first gifted to Canada by the Caribbean Community during the country’s centennial celebrations.

Louis Saldenah’s Unmasked

Last summer thousands of revellers bought costumes and joined the Saldenah Carnival on the Lakeshore parade route.  This year, Louis Saldenah is expecting a large turnout.

“Coming out of Covid last year we were able to maintain our numbers of around 5,000 mas players,” said Saldenah. “I am always optimistic about the parade.”

The outdoor all day long event, dubbed “On De Road Again” will take place along Toronto’s Lakeshore on August 5th.