ROSEDALE UNITED CHURCH IS READY TO JUMP UP WITH CARNIVAL PHOTOGRAPHER

Baboolal has kiddies carnival costume photography show complete with a live mini-parade

photo by Baboolal

Will the stuffy old Rosedale neighbourhood ever be the same? On March 10 there will be a small Carnival costume parade where Mas has never gone before … out front the Rosedale United Church.
All this month the Rosedale Church on Roxborough Drive (one of the most prestigious streets in the city) is displaying the photographs of carnival photographer Jenny Baboolal, in a show she calls Art of the Mas. The photographs are of children in Mas costumes taking part in Trinidad’s Junior Carnival.
In an online newsletter the Church explains the show to its parishoners. “The children ( pictured in Baboolal’s colour photographs) wear their carnival costumes with pride and dance to the music in the company of family and friends.”  
“The exhibit allows the viewer to get a close-up look at the masqueraders and the intricacies and splendour of their costumes, so that contemplation of these elements can occur.” 
There will be a special reception for the show on March 10th and that is where the mini-parade comes in. To kick-off the event there will be a small Mas parade out on the street outside of the ceremony hall. 
The guest at the official reception will be Trinidad and Tobago’s Consul General Tracey Ramsubagh-Mannette and The Reverend Dr. Kristin Philipson. Former CTV talk show host Dini Petty will be there as well to act as the Master of Ceremonies. 
Trinidadian born Jenny Baboolal is an entrepreneur, administrator, and practitioner in the arts. Based in Toronto she has been taking Carnival pictures in Canada and throughout the Caribbean for decades.
Photography has long been her passion and she continues to point her camera lens at the annual Children’s Carnival. Being able to capture anything she finds interesting or beautiful, and share the infinitely wonderful world with others, keeps her love of the art alive. Baboolal’s photographic exhibitions include solo shows at the Trinidad and Tobago National Museum, Toronto’s City Hall and Harbourfront. She has also exhibited in group shows at the Royal Ontario Museum and with The Canadian Caribbean Photographers Arts Collective.
Each month, Rosedale United Church invites a local artist to display their work in the church. All are welcome to come and visit the church for a closer look at the visiting art exhibitions. The church building is open from 9:30am to 4pm, Mondays to Fridays, and on Sunday mornings from 10am to 12pm.

By Stephen Weir  Caribbean Camera weekly