Dragon Boy Flies Above the Stage For Carnival

It Was A Three for Three Junior Carnival Weekend

By Stephen Weir Photographs by Don Moreland

It started Friday night and ended early Sunday evening. Three days. Three Junior Carnival costume launches.

It all played out this past weekend in Scarborough. D’ New Regulars & Foreva Carnival, Venom Carnival and Epic Carnival held parties and costume shows for youngsters interested in taking part in the Junior Carnival Parade later this summer.

About 50 parents and their children came to the Nugget Avenue Twilight Restaurant early Friday evening to see the junior costumes designed by D’New Regulars & Foreva Carnival. It was a free event – complete with food and face painting - to show children what costumes they could wear in the coming July 21^st Junior Carnival Parade in Malvern as part of the Toronto Caribbean Carnival.

The launch fashion show got off to a late start with about 20 children taking to the stage at 8pm just when the fete was suppose to end.  The kids were energetic on stage and parents gave them all a standing ovation!

On Saturday afternoon parents were back with their children on Nugget Avenue, this time at the Twilight Warehouse a few doors down from the café where the Friday show had been held. The Venom Junior show was high energy, with four sections hitting the stage over the course of an hour.

Over a hundred parents and children attending rewarded the youngster with an extended ovation when it was all over!

On Sunday at the Epic Carnival launch it was easy for the 30 young models – both female and male in four sections -- to their cool, thanks to the venue.  They performed on a large stage built overtop of an ice covered curling rink at the Tam and Heather Club on Military Trail in Scarborough. More than 100 parents and their children took in the free event.

At most of the junior launches the girls tend to be the more polished performers – big dance steps, poise and presence.  This was the case at Epic but for one young man wearing black dragon wings. He stood out from the crowd by showing everyone that dragons can indeed fly, spending most of his 2-minute routine in the air. 

To date eight mas camps have held costume launches for the children.  There will be three more weekend parties before the July 21^st Junior Carnival Parade and Family Day which will take place in Malvern adjacent to the Neilson Park.