What used to be known as Caribana is now known as the Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival Toronto; not only has the name changed, it appears the event has as well.

The 2011 edition of this annual event brought about much controversy and skepticism. From the name to change to the event owners and sponsors, everything about this Caribbean showcase was being questioned. It would seem, though, that the event was being questioned by all the wrong people.

This street festival, which is supposed to showcase and highlight the best in Caribbean culture, was still a hit with the participants. From mas camp to mas camp, you would be hard pressed to find masqueraders who didn’t enjoy themselves this past weekend.

Janelle James

Like many participants, Janelle James waits for this event all year long and when it finally arrives, it’s like Christmas for her. “It’s the preparation. Waking up in the morning and saying, ‘wow its Caribana!’ It’s putting on your costume, taking pictures and getting to the starting point, seeing all the different bands. Getting hyped to cross the stage- it’s like a rush!” she explained excitedly.

Janelle, who marched with Louis Saldenah mas-k camp, explained that her experience at the festival has always been fun, but it’s her time spent participating with various mas camps that has been the most rewarding.

“It’s so different to be in it. It’s like you paid for your costume, you pick it up and you’re just waiting for Caribana so you can put it on. It’s also the appreciation, the hard work that went into making it,” she added.

While many outsiders were busy focusing on the changes and negative press surrounding the festival and the parade, others were embracing what it means. Shauntel Parkinson, who also marched with Louis Saldenah mas-k camp, is another of those participants that waits all year long for this event.

Shauntel Parkinson

“The grand parade really feels like a complete release of all the stress, adrenaline, and genuine happiness that has accumulated over the months prior to the parade. For me, participating in the grand parade really represents the love and appreciation I have for my Caribbean heritage; it’s the one time during the year where I can celebrate and jump up with everyone from any island or country in the Caribbean and the world. It truly is a spectacular experience that everyone should be apart of.”

Sadly, the joy and appreciation felt by many people involved with the event changed into feelings of anger and frustration due to violence. Another act of violence, which led to one man being killed, overshadowed the parade.  Those within the community of the festival are upset and outraged because these acts of violence, which aren’t caused by those within the parade, are seen as “part of” the parade. Many people fear going to enjoy the music, food and culture because they feel they might not make it home for dinner that night.

Some believe the disrespect for the parade starts with those individuals who hop over fences to be a part of the parade. “They don’t appreciate the costume. They just care about dancing on girls,” explains Janelle. She went on to add that she would like to see the parade like it is in Trinidad, respected and appreciated.

Maybe it starts with the media and the festival organisers educating the public on proper parade etiquette; maybe the parade needs stricter guidelines and more cops on the route. Whatever it may be, something needs to be done to protect this heritage event. We within the black community have seen many of our companies, projects and festivals shut down or changed from what we had intended. It is time we come together to make this colourful, beautiful festival the way it’s supposed to be.

Patrick Dennis Jr. is a media studies student at University of Guelph-Humber and editorial intern for swaymag.ca.

By Adebe DeRango-Adem

“Without question, carnival had become a symbol of freedom for the broad mass of the population and not merely a season for frivolous enjoyment. It had a ritualistic significance, rooted in the experience of slavery and in the celebration of freedom from slavery…..Adopted by the Trinidad people it become a deeply meaningful anniversary of deliverance from the most hateful form of human bondage
-Professor Errol Hill in The Trinidad Carnival, 1972.

Originally from Guyana, Nation speaks to SWAY about the inspiration behind his debut exhibit, and his own experience of Carnival from a multitude of perspectives.

DeRango-Adem: Your debut photography exhibition at the ROM is a retrospective look at the history of Caribana (now Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival) in Toronto, and the cultural legacy behind Carnival.  What inspired you to put this exhibition together?

Cheong: I started documenting Caribana after reading the book Trinidad Carnival by Jeffrey Chock in 2007.  The images moved me so much to want to deepen my understanding of the cultural significance of Carnival and the history of all its permutations.  The intention has always been to publish a powerful book documenting Toronto’s Caribana and the history of the Caribbean families who immigrated to Toronto.  This exhibit came about after Karen Carter the ED of Heritage Toronto and Chair of Black Artist Network in Dialog (BAND) contacted me to inquire if I had any Caribana photos that could be part of an exhibit that would mark the history of Caribana from 1967 to today.

How has your work as a community activist and musician factored into your debut as a photographer?

Community activism brings me closer to the impact of social injustices that break people’s spirit or bring out the divine in them; it is these broken and divine expressions, emotional and physical expressions of liberation, resistance, transcendence, joy and innocence that I seek to record.  My music allows me to tap in to the rhythm of a space very quickly and it allows me to dance with the events unfolding around me.

Have you ever played Mas?

I’ve not yet found a local Mas Band that has produced a costume that speaks to me. After seeing Brian McFarlane’s Mas in 2009, however, I know it’s possible to have a costume with social value that I would be proud to wear. Locally, I love what Ricardo McRae is doing by preserving the jab jab tradition here in Toronto.

Despite combining archival photos and film and more recent visuals, your work seems to insist that carnival is not an archaic type of folksong fit for the archives.  Would you say this is the case?  How has carnival kept abreast of changing conditions and remained a contemporary cultural expression for those of Caribbean ancestry?

I would like to see more social and politically conscious Mas here in Toronto to keep the equally important bacchanalian spirit in balance.  I think there is a real danger of first, second and third generation Canadians of Caribbean descent losing touch with the sociopolitical expressions of Carnival.  Ras Stone, a local Trinidadian artist, is doing very conscious work that celebrates the emancipation spirit of Carnival. This year he created a float for Kiddy Carnival that was a tribute to the Marcus Garvey.  This year’s Caribana will also have a Rasta float for the very first time. These are both encouraging examples of folks keeping the conscious spirit alive.  We have a great opportunity every year to remind people of our past, to celebrate our diversity and to promote love and understanding among the many nations that celebrate Carnival, despite colour, class, creed and sexual orientation

As much as people around the world enjoy the carnival as a unique celebration of culture, there is a political dimension behind the music and performances.  How you would describe this dimension to those just learning about carnival history?

The old calypso’s like Sparrow’s 1959 Paye up to David Rudder’s 1988 Panama and Ella Andall’s 2007 Black Woman are a small examples of the type of consciousness that lives in Calypso music.  Soca is party music that should not be ever confused with the musical tradition that preserves the place of the African Griot that survived the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

Calypso was initially used a social outlet that would give rise to a national theatre predicated on a sense of collective memory.  How does photography allow for a passing on of memory? Are photographs performances themselves, in the sense that they re-enact and re-call history?

Photographs are a static record of a moment in time that exemplifies humanity or nature at its best, worst or most mundane.  It’s an art form that preserves important moments that trigger deeper and more fluid, complex memories.  Our collective experiences and memories are the makings of history, and a photo can remind us of those important, perhaps transformative moments.

Toronto’s Carnival: Festival Photographs from 1967 to Today runs between July 16th and August 1st in the Hilary and Galen Weston Wing, Level 2. It is part of the duo-location exhibit, also featuring at The Gladstone Hotel until July 31.  In this exhibition, Cheong’s contemporary work captures and communicates the myriad of experiences that have been a part of the Carnival experience in Toronto from its roots in 1967 to today.

Further Reading:

• CARIBANA: African Roots and Continuities – Race, Space and the Poetics of Moving –An essay by M. NourbeSe Philip which traces the history of Toronto’s Caribana, it’s model in Trinidad, it’s African origins and it’s raison d’etre. This genre crossing “essay” includes poetry, has fictional characters like a short story and is written in the rhythm and language of the Trinidadian demotic.

By Adebe DeRango-Adem

Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival Toronto (formerly Caribana), now in its 44^th year, is an exciting three-week cultural explosion of Caribbean music, cuisine, and performing arts.  It has become a major international event and cultural attraction—indeed, the largest cultural festival of its kind in North America.

Toronto will come alive as the city explodes with the pulsating colours, rhythms and Caribbean melodies.  Here are a few event highlights you won’t want to miss:

Royal Ontario Museum and the Gladstone Hotel Toronto’s Carnival 1967 to Today

Place: Royal Ontario Museum
Date: Saturday, July 16 to Monday August 1
Cost: ROM Entrance fee

This duo-location exhibit marks the world premiere of the work of artist Nation Cheong. In this exhibition, Cheong’s contemporary work captures and communicates the myriad of experiences that have been a part of the Carnival experience in Toronto from its roots in 1967 to today.

CTV/CP24 BBQ

Place: 299 Queen Street W
Date: Thursday, July 21 at 11:30am
Cost: Free

An outdoor BBQ from Queen Street to Richmond Street.

Annual Gala

Place: Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex
Date: Friday, July 22 at 5:30pm
Cost: Ticket $160 | Table of 10 $1,600 – All prices include HST

An elegant evening at the Liberty Grand that showcases masquerade models, music, dancing, and Caribbean food.

“Kaiso 365″ Calypso Monarch Finals

Place: P.C. Ho Theatre, Chinese Cultural Centre, Scarborough
Date: Saturday, July 23 at 6:00pm
Cost: Adv: $35.00 | Door: $40.00

The storytelling tradition gets the red carpet treatment when nine finalists compete for Canada’s top Calypso prize. Music lovers experience a unique expression that is delivered with humour, double entendre and wit.

Toronto Pearson Launch

Place: Pearson Airport
Date: Wednesday, July 27
Cost: Free

It’s another year for the Greater Toronto Airport Authority partnership with the Festival Management Committee to promote the festival at the gateway to the City of Toronto with Caribbean entertainment and tastings.

For full event listings, please visit http://www.torontocaribbeancarnival.com

By Tendisai Cromwell

An air of excitement permeated the crowd at Nathan Philips Square, marking July 12 as the official kick off for this year’s Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival Toronto.

The launch featured carnival costumes showcased by band models, lively calypso performances and steel pan played by the Silhouettes Steel Orchestra.

Grenadian-born Betty Ann Vincent, 39, has been enjoying the festival for the last eight years. She came out to celebrate the launch.

“Every year I come down and support my people, meet friends and have fun,” Betty Ann says.

Some notable attendees included Mayor Rob Ford who promised that he would attend this year’s festivities.

Being the largest of its kind in North America, each year the carnival infuses life into the city of Toronto offering an array of events and activities for all ages and ethnicities.

This year, the festival will be making the gated area and VIP section at the Exhibition Place more family-friendly and adding a sporting component.

Chris Alexander, Chief Administrative Officer for the Festival Management Committee, encourages everyone to attend the over 75 events the festival will have.

“Come out and enjoy. We’re bigger, we’re better and we’re going to keep it jumping,” Chris says.

Visit the website for a list of the events and for further details: torontocaribbeancarnival.com

Connections

Designer/Band leader: Leigh Crichlow

Theme: A Cultural Expose

What is the meaning and significance behind the theme for this year’s costume?

This year, we have the Junkanoo Legends with us. To incorporate them, we decided to do a cultural expose.

Why is this theme important for this year’s carnival?

What we’re trying to do is include more people. People seem to think it’s strictly a Caribbean thing. We’ve had other cultures come and say, “I didn’t know I could take part!” People don’t realize although it’s a Caribbean festival, it is supposed to be all-inclusive.

As a designer, what inspires you when you design a costume?

I’m very creative and detail-oriented and it usually takes a couple drawings, but I like to make something simple yet detailed. I like to look for something bright and festive-looking that’s comfortable.

Toronto Revellers

Designer/ Bandleader: Jamaal Magloire

Theme: Welcome to Oz

Sway: What is the meaning and significance behind the theme for this year’s costume?

[We decided] Welcome to OZ was a creative opportunity to tell the story of Dorothy, Tin Man, Scarecrow and Cowardly Lion but with a twist in the vibrant spirit of Carnival!

Why is this theme important for this year’s carnival?

Welcome to Oz is important for its masqueraders — a cross section of nationalities, races and generations — to highlight what makes us the people’s band.

As a designer, what inspires you when you design a costume?

It’s knowing that you and your section leaders have come together, and your masqueraders are happy to showcase their costumes. Seeing your vision and costumes on Carnival day is a supreme feeling.

Fantazia

Designers: Will and Annalisa Morton

Theme: Come Dance with Me

We’re trying to do different dances from different parts of the world.

Why is this theme important for this year’s carnival?

I like to do positive things. A lot of people, when they do their mas, they like to go to the dark side. I like to be more fun, that’s why I picked this theme.

As a designer, what inspires you when you design a costume?

Annalisa Morton Fantazia band designer

First, I pick the name of the section then I start playing with the colours, trying to see what would go well with that name for the section.

Louis Saldenah Mas – K Club

Designer/Bandleader: Louis Saldenah

Theme: Secrets of the Outer Limits

What is the meaning and significance behind the theme for this year’s costume?

I wanted to do something different because nobody really has attempted this type of mas before.

Why is this theme important for this year’s carnival?

I never thought about the theme and the importance of any given year. The theme just came to my head. Once it comes to my head, I just run with it.

As a designer, what inspires you when you design a costume?

Once I decide the theme, I give the section leaders the opportunity to come up with their colours. After we come up with all the colours, we start to discuss where we want to take the design. It’s a team effort. I want to give the young people the opportunity to put their input into the design of the costume.

Callaloo

Designer/ Bandleader: Marlon Singh

Theme: Native Americas

What is the meaning and significance behind the theme for this year’s costume?

We like to educate people and bring back the feeling of how mas used to be. That is why we’re doing Native Americans, not only from North America but Central America as well.

Why is this theme important for this year’s carnival?

It’s how the bandleader feels. Whatever feels good to you, you just do it.

As a designer, what inspires you when you design a costume?

I look at the colours people used to wear, how they lived, where they lived. When you really study a theme and get into it, you see what colours you need to put in there. It means something.

Carnival Nationz leaders Marcus Eustace and Bryce Aguiton

By Stephanie Pollard

Carnival Nationz

Designer/ Bandleader: Marcus Eustace and Bryce Aguiton

Theme: Mythical Creatures

What is the meaning and significance behind the theme for this year’s costume?

We decided to challenge ourselves with a theme that is epic in proportions and captivates everyone’s imagination. Which lady has never dreamt of being a magical mermaid? Which man has never thought what it would be like to ride Pegasus? These are fantasies based off of creatures and myths that have transcended time.

Why is this theme important for this year’s carnival?

We noticed a distinct pattern in popular culture over the past few years with the resurgence of fantasy, sci-fi genre movies and shows. We thought it would be a perfect compliment to what we do at North America’s largest festival: create fantasy.

As a designer, what inspires you when you design a costume?

Simply put, the thought of thousands of lovely ladies reveling for hours in your unique creations feeling like they just won $1-million is all the inspiration needed!