Caribana
The Toronto Caribbean Carnival, formerly and commonly known as Caribana, is a festival of Caribbean culture and traditions held each summer in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a pan-Caribbean Carnival event and has been billed as North America's largest Festival, frequented by over 1.3 million tourists each year for the festival's Grand Parade and an overall attendance of 2.3 million.
Beginning in July, the multi-week festivities lead up to the parade which occurs over the Simcoe Day long weekend, the first weekend in August. The festival also coincides with August 1 Emancipation Day observances that commemorate the emancipation of slaves of African descent. The main stakeholders of the events are the Toronto Mas' Bands Association, the Organization of Calypso Performing Artistes, and the Ontario Steelpan Association.
Events
Several events occur over the course of the festivities celebrating Caribbean culture. While the Parade of Bands is the most-well known festivities, events vary per year and in the past has included exhibits ; theatre plays ; and fashion shows.Grand Parade
While the Caribbean Festival holds events over several weeks, the culmination of the event is the final weekend which is punctuated by the street Parade of Bands. This weekend traditionally coincides with the civic holiday in August. The street Parade of Bands consists of costumed dancers along with live Caribbean music being played from large speakers on the flat-bed of 18 wheeler trucks. Much of the music associated with the event, such as steel pan, soca and calypso. Floats can also be found which play chutney, dancehall and reggae music.The bands are the most important part of the main Carnival parade. Each band displays an artistic theme through costume-making. In competition with one another during the parade, they pass a judging spot which will rate each band section for its costume design, the energy of masqueraders, the creativity of presentation and so on. Work on the costumes begin soon after the previous year's celebration and usually takes one full year to complete all of the costumes. As of 2017, Whitfield Belasco has led a band since his brother recruited him from the Trinidad Carnival to help organize the first Caribana in 1967. Louis Saldenah has actively participated in Caribana since 1977 and has been awarded the Band of the Year twenty times. A King and Queen of the Band is also judged, and winning is considered claiming the biggest prize of the festival.
In the 1970s, the parade route originally followed Bloor and Yonge Streets ending at Toronto City Hall concluding with a concert at Nathan Phillips Square. In the 1980s, the parade ran along Bay and University Avenue. Since 1991, when the parade shifted to Lake Shore Boulevard into Exhibition Place, In 1993, the Caribana Marketplace covered market was added at Marilyn Bell Park along the parade route. In 2009, barricades were introduced to separate the spectators from those playing mas.
In May 2010, the festival added a new initiative to involve post-secondary schools. The only college to participate was Centennial College School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culture, where they created a costume theme of the Tropical Amazon.
| Year | Band | Leader |
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| 2019 | Louis Saldenah | |
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| 2017 | Louis Saldenah | |
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| 1995 | The Art of Nature | Kenney Combs |
| 1994 | Louis Saldenah | |
| 1993 | The Golden Antilles | Arnold Hughes |
| 1992 | The Architect | Louis Saldenah |
| 1991 | Outa Dis World - Trinidad and Tobago | Louis Saldenah |
| 1990 | Beyond the Darkness | Louis Saldenah |
| 1989 | Fire On Ice | Louis Saldenah |
| 1988 | Of Men and Gods | Arnold Hughes and Associates |
| 1987 | Nations of the World | Eddie Merchant |
| 1986 | The Treasures of Nursery Rhyme and Fairy Tales | Eddie Merchant |
| 1985 | Flight into Fantasy | Selwyn Davis and Whitfield Belasco |
| 1984 | Tribute to Sparrow and Kitchener | Eddie Merchant |
| 1983 | Birds Evolution | Eddie Merchant |
| 1982 | Night Out | Louis Saldenah |
| 1981 | Power of the SKy | Eddie Merchant |
| 1980 | Island in the Sun | Louis Saldenah |
| 1979 | From the Caribbean with Love | Russell Charter |
| 1978 | Birds of a Feather | Raymond Lee |
| 1977 | Shangrila | Louis Saldenah, Harold Saldenah, and Carlos Douglas |
| 1976 | Shaka's Dream Africa | Nip Davis |
| 1975 | A Compendium of Games | Noel Audain |
| 1974 | Festival of Fans/Noctural Emissions | Nip Davis and Earnest Castello/Kenn Shah |
| 1973 | Modes of the Seasons | Earnest Castello |
| 1972 | Tales of Utopia | Earnest Castello |
| 1971 | Tout C'est Beau/Wonderful World of Colour | Earnest Castello/Noel Audain |
| 1970 | Snow Kingdom | Keith Sheppard, Joe Brown, Steve Dyal, Kenn Shah |
| 1969 | Splendor of the Dark Continent | Clive Brand |
| 1968 | The Fantasy of the American Indians | Clive Brand |
| 1967 | Flight Into Fantasy | Alpha King, Whitfield Belasco, and Nip Davis |
King and Queen Showcase
The night before the grande parade, all the kings and queens of the bands compete on stage at Lamport Stadium to be named King and Queen of Carnival. Joella Crichton has been awarded Queen of the Carnival nine times and was subject of "Becoming a Queen" a ninety minute documentary which screened at the CaribbeanTales International Film Festival.| Year | Queen | Title | Band | Band Leader |
| 2008 | Joella Crichton | |||
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| 1995 | Danielle Lee | Lady of Life | Sunrise and Sunset | Nip Davis and Courtney Doldron |
| 1994 | Natasha McCollin | Dance Ka Lay Lay | Dancing in the Street | Ken de Freitas |
| 1993 | Penney Sutherland | Amazon Queen | Golden Antilles | Arnold Hughes |
| 1992 | Venetia Saldenah | Pandora Box | The Architect | Louis Saldenah |
| 1991 | Ariene Parris | Wave of Light and Life | Kenne de Freitas | |
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| 1968 | Yvonne Alexander | |||
| 1967 | Hyacinth Noreiga |
| Year | King | Title | Band | Band Leader |
| 2008 | Ronald Alleyze | |||
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| 1995 | Jason Connelle/Courtney Doldron | A Mystical Bird/Chaos | So Nice So Sweet/Sunrise and Sunset | Ken de Freitas/Nipp Davis and Courtney Doldron |
| 1994 | Courtney Doldron | XXX | Abracadabra | Nip Davis and Courtney Doldron |
| 1993 | Rudy Rampersad | The Nebula | Light After Dark | Louis Saldenah |
| 1992 | John Kam/Rudy Ramparsad | King Solomon's Dream/Visions of the Architect | Biblical and Mythical Dreams/The Architect | Dreams by Caribbean & Canadian Cultural Club /Louis Saldenah |
| 1991 | John Kam | Northern Reflections | Realms of Light | Arnold Hughes |
| 1990 | John Kam | High Priest of El Dorado | Poetry in Motion | Arnold Hughes |
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| 1968 | Francis Dennis |