Music, dance and costumes take centre stage at Toronto Caribbean Carnival

FAIM | August 4, 2018

The festival’s Grand Parade is now underway in the city

Caribbean culture is on full display at the Toronto Caribbean Carnival, which is now in full swing. “This is what gets you going, this is what gets the adrenaline flowing,” chief executive officer of the Toronto Caribbean Carnival Denise Herrera-Jackson told CBC Toronto.

Caribbean culture is on full display at the Toronto Caribbean Carnival, which is now underway in the city. (Adrian Cheung/CBC)

Formerly and still commonly called Caribana — the Toronto Caribbean Carnival is a festival of Caribbean culture and is held each summer in the city.

More than a million tourists are expected in Toronto this long weekend to experience the carnival.

Herrera-Jackson said there is a lot more to the festival than street dancing and masquerading.

“What I think people never talk about is what goes into making these costumes, and it is the creativity of the mind and the execution by different people who really and truly make it happen,” she said.

Since its inception in 1967, the Toronto Caribbean Carnival has grown to be the crown jewel of the city’s summer festivals. (Adrian Cheung/CBC)

“You have generations of families that are involved in Mas bands and in steel pan, so you have family commitment, and then you have family friends and community.”

Herrera-Jackson said there’s significance to the carnival being held this particular weekend in August.

“You have to understand that in terms of the history of carnival, it was all tied up with emancipation; and why we have the parade on this particular weekend is reminiscent of the emancipation of slavery in Upper Canada,” she said.

More than a million tourists are expected Toronto this August long weekend to experience the carnival. (Adrian Cheung/CBC)

“All the carnivals all over the world, where they would have had African populations, that is where the celebration is — the celebration of freedom of slavery, the celebration of expression . . . [it’s] exhilarating in so many different ways.”

The Caribbean Carnival weekend kicked off on Thursday and runs through Monday.

Saturday’s parade, which got underway at 8:30 a.m., is expected to conclude at 8:30 p.m.

‘It’s the best thing’

Adaiza Findley, a New Yorker, said this is her first time at the Toronto Caribbean Carnival but it will not be her last.

“It’s important because as Caribbean people we always have carnival, so since we can’t go all the way home, we could have it right here,” she told CBC Toronto.

“Since there are so many people that are from the Caribbean that are here, we might as well just have a parade here.”

Augustine Jones said he would not miss it for anything.

The Grand Parade is the largest event of the Toronto Caribbean Carnival. It continues to attract local, regional, national, and international attention. (CBC)

“We’ve been celebrating for years. We’ve been doing this for a long time, and it’s like everything else, step by step by step,” he said.

For Vincentian Cheryl Davey, calypso music is what she grew up on.

“I live for Caribana. I like to come down and meet a lot of people and hear all about the new calypso that they have out and dance and wave,” Davey said.

“It’s a natural mix of everybody coming together…. You’ve got everybody. You see every flag from every country and everybody can get along,” she said. “You’re happy, you’re drinking, you’re dancing. At the end of it, you’ve had a good time. It’s the best thing.”

Road closures

Several roads in Toronto are closed this weekend for events. (CBC)

While the festival will bring its vibrant colours and fun to the streets, commuters should also expect road closures and heavy traffic congestion.

Road closures within Exhibition Place grounds and Lake Shore Boulevard West began Saturday at 2 a.m. and will run until Sunday at approximately 6 a.m. The road closures include:

Westbound Lake Shore Boulevard West will be closed to traffic from Bathurst Street to Parkside Drive
Eastbound Lake Shore Boulevard West will be closed from Colborne Lodge to Bathurst Street
Dufferin Street south of Springhurst Avenue
Strachan Avenue south of Liberty Street
Vehicle access west of Bathurst Street on Fleet Street may be closed after the parking lot at Exhibition Place and the Gore Lots are full. This closure will be determined by need.

Restricted access points

In order to assist in the safe movement of traffic and to ensure as little disruption as possible, the following streets will have restricted access for vehicles:

Dufferin Street south of King Street West
Dowling Avenue south of King Street West
Stadium Road south of Lake Shore Boulevard west
Queens Quay West west of Bathurst Street
Springhurst Avenue west of Jameson Avenue
Springhurst Avenue east of Jameson Avenue

Police have also advised that other streets, although not restricted to vehicles, will be strictly enforced for parking infractions. Those streets are bounded by King Street West, east of Colborne Lodge and west of Bathurst Street.

Source: cbc.ca

Written by FAIM