JUSTINE TRUDEAU's CARNIVAL TIME

 

Pet Marchan and Justin Trudeau talk Caribbean food

TRUDEAU COMES TO CARNIVAL BOOT CAMP

By Stephen Weir

Last Friday Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came to Toronto to meet with Mayor John Tory at City Hall. When he finished the tete-et-tete and went out onto Nathan Phillips Square, he got 45-minutes of Carnival boot camp training that touched on all aspects of the carnival arts, from pan, to costume making to carnival food!

“I met the Prime Minister of Canada this morning!” said Noel Audain, a longtime costume maker for Louis Saldenah’s Mas K Camp. “ It was exciting to show him the art of wire bending.”

“ I set up a display to show the Prime Minister the fresh fruit and vegetables that are grown in the Caribbean and used in our cooking,” explained long time Carnival associate Petronilla Marchan.

“ I had it all. Peppers, mangos, yam, casaba and something he had never seen before. Caribbean Tamara,” continued Ms. Marchan. “ He was very pleasant and took his time looking at the produce and talking to me.  He said at the end that he really likes pepper sauce.”

The Prime Minister enjoyed meeting with Mas models wearing skimpy costumes. And despite a raft of on going bad press involving his possible groping of a journalist twenty years ago, he was willing to pose for pictures and selfies with the women.(see cover shot at bottom of page)

The best photo session of the morning for Trudeau was when he met and interacted with junior carnival children in costume from the Toronto Revellers mas camp.

 

Justine Trudeau and Noel Audain Talk Costumes - photo by Eric Delfish

Justine Trudeau and the kids at City Hall on Friday - photo by Eric Delfish