Black, Gold and Green Down Lakeshore

Brampton Debut for the Freedom Mas Band of the Toronto Carnival

By Stephen Weir. Pictures by Des Photography

 

This early bird didn’t get any worms, Johanna Grant, got something significantly tastier.  By holding her new Freedom Mas Band costume launch on Sunday she won bragging rights to having thrown the first Band launch of Carnival 2022. She is also the first to open the doors to their camp and begin the business of making masquerade outfits.
She set a couple of other milestones this weekend. Her new band is the only group that is now based in the city of Brampton. They will be proudly waving the Black, Green and Gold along Lakeshore Blvd in Toronto’s Grand Parade on July 30^th.

 “After a 16 years hiatus, the Jamaican Band is       back, fully equipped with costumes to give    revellers the full carnival experience,” said Johanna Grant shortly after her day long fete ended. “We are excited to bring back the Jamaican culture to the Toronto Carnival formally known as Caribana!”

“Honest, one of the reasons I decide to get into this (the Carnival business) was because my children have never seen our (Jamaican) Flag in the parade,” she told the Caribbean Camera. “God willing it will happen this summer.”
The Hamilton nurse first decided to enter a band in the annual summer festival back in 2021.  She found a rental space in the city’s northeast for her Mas Camp and was getting ready to announce her opening when another wave of Covid hit Canada and the United States. Grant (pictured at right) decided to keep the space even after Covid restrictions ended up shutting down the parade. Grant is now operating the mas camp on a year-round basis.The building is on Advance Boulevard near Dixie Rd and Highway 407 in Brampton.  “It is just minutes from the airport which is perfect for people coming in from the Caribbean and the US for carnival,” she said.  As well there is a large Caribbean Community in Brampton who now won’t have to drive into Toronto to get their carnival costumes.
And Ohh La La what costumes, Freedom Mas outfits are worth driving to see no matter where one is coming from.  At the launch it was a sea of gold and green feathers as the models came down a wide staircase onto the stage inside Gateway Blvd’s Chandi Banquet Hall.
It was an eight-hour tease for those that wanted to see all the costumes, watch and listen to the Pan Angels perform and be entertained by MC Kevin Carrington. It began at 11 am, an estimated crowd of 300 took in the revolving fete, The theme for Freedom Mas this year is Genesis, fitting for a band in its inaugural year.  
With the camp already opening, Grant has hit the ground running. Her big challenge is to get the word out that people are jumping up in Brampton. She is hoping that Jamaicans will also make the trek north but warns that people in the Caribbean must be mindful of the red tape that they might face to get the proper paperwork to come to Canada.
Johanna Grant has played mas with Tribal, Carnival Nationz and The Revellers, so she is mindful the other bands will be having their own launches in the weeks to come.  She wants to play nice within the community and is waiting to see her competitors schedules before throwing a Blocko or two before the big weekend is here.