Stephen Weir articles, editorials and popular social media weir postings

2024 King and Queen and Panorama leaving Lamport Stadium? There it goes! Or is the Caribbean Camera reading this correctly? Is the annual Toronto Caribbean Carnival King and Queen competition a goner after over twenty years at the Lamport Stadium? Earlier this week, the Festival Management Committee sent out an update on what is planned for this summer’s carnival. A copy landed on the desk of the Toronto Caribbean Carnival, implying that the premier evening event of the Carnival, the King and Queen competition at the King Street stadium, might not be held there this year; instead, it will be incorporated into the daytime parade. The King and Queen competition has been selling out the Lamport Stadium since the last century. Politicians, entertainers, VIPs — this has always been the hardest ticket to get during Festival week. “The King and Queen show has traditionally kicked off the Toronto Caribbean Carnival weekend every year since the beginning. The leaders of Caribana Mas Bands will ...

 Prime Minister Selfie Madness Slows Down the Kiddies Parade Photos by Herman Silochan & Prime Minister's office. Story by sweir The Junior Carnival Parade in Malvern is an annual event that never fails to captivate and entertain, and this year was no exception. Held last Saturday at the Community Centre & Neilson Park, the parade brought together thousands of kids, parents, and neighbors to celebrate diversity, freedom, and Caribbean cultures. However, what made this year even more special was the unexpected appearance of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. For the second time, Prime Minister Trudeau graced the Kiddies Parade with his presence, surprising the organizers with short notice. Earlier in the day, he attended the Fun Philippines Toronto Street Festival: Mabuhay! Following that event, his team informed the Carnival parade organizers about his plan to make an appearance. The news of the Prime Minister's arrival was met with mixed feelings. While the children and sp...

Putting Carnival Spice into the Toronto Blue Jays Sagging Game July 28TH   The Blue Jays are about to get a big helping of Carnival Spice this Friday night and with any luck it will give the baseball team the jolt they need to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers.July 28 th  is the Toronto team will be celebrating  the  Blue Jays  Caribbean Carnival!   With performances by Toronto Caribbean Carnival pannists, models and dancers, the fans, and perhaps the players themselves, are expected to be immersed in the pulsating rhythms and colourful spectacles of the carnival. For the second consecutive year, the Sky Dome has invited the renowned Carnival Spice, Canada's top providers of Caribbean dance and Caribbean fitness classes, to elevate the atmosphere and energize the crowd. The festivities aim to bring the essence of Caribbean culture to the baseball diamond, setting the stage for an unforgettable match against the formidable Los Angeles Dodgers. The Blue Jays hav...

  Carnival Hopes That The Feds Are Listening. Public Safety At Stake Organizers of this year's Toronto Caribbean Carnival have their fingers and toes crossed and their ears to the ground, hoping to hear the sound of approaching government funding. They have reason to be hopeful. Early this week, the Feds announced an emergency grant of money to the country’s Pride Festivals to cover rising fixed costs. On Tuesday, Toronto Pride learned that it will be receiving money from the Federal government to cover the costs of added security measures at this year's Pride parades. The Feds is providing up to $1.5 million to Pride organizations across the country for increased security measures this year. Half of that money goes to Pride organizations in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. Like Pride, the Toronto Carnival is facing a hefty increase in the cost of insurance, security, and other fixed costs this summer. However, to date, it has not received an increase in funding to pay the bil...

  Behind the Mask? Not Much. These Costumes are Sexy photos by Gilbert Medina Saturday night, Louis Saldenah, the force behind the Saldenah Carnival, unveiled his secret plans for what 5,000 or so masqueraders will wear on the road this August. Hoping for hot weather on parade day for the Toronto Caribbean Carnival, because behind those masks, there isn't much costume at all!  What a show it was, with sixteen sections showcasing models in skimpy carnival costumes in front of a packed hall at the Grand Cinnamon Banquet Hall (which holds 1,500 people). They wined, strutted, and posed until the wee hours of Sunday morning. The most in-demand DJ at carnival events this spring is a man who calls himself SKF. He kicked off the stage show late Saturday night by introducing the first section of the night, Ronny (Louis's son) Saldenah's Alter Ego.  In carnival talk, Alter Ego refers to people with split personalities or double lives. For parade purposes, the skimpy costumes are de...

  Henry, so how do we get to hear the music? Last week the Caribbean Camera published a news story about 55 Still Alive, a Calypso song written by performing artist King Cosmos, that is meant to commemorate the 55 th  anniversary of the Toronto Caribbean Carnival. Last week the song was still being worked up and we didn’t tell readers how to hear the new music.  Bad mistake, you the readers let us know that it was unfair to hold back on the tune. Well, we hate to do this again but Calypso fans will have to wait until the end of the month.  The song drops June 1 st  on Spotify, Apple Music and all the other social media music platforms. What will you hear? The call-and-response style song pays tribute to  Canada’s largest multi-cultural festival from past to present. Composed, written and produced by King Cosmos (Henry Gomez) is all about the originators, artists, organizations and stakeholders who nurtured the festival since its inception in ...

D’New Regulars will be Off-Duty Next Sunday Night By Stephen Weir    When it comes to Carnival Canada’s longest serving Mas Man, Michael Williams ( pictured below ) he is never off duty, except next Sunday. He started the D’Regulars in 1973 and now 49-years later with a slightly different name, he will be presenting a costume launch for this year’s Mas Band. Canada’s Armed Forces generals are not probably going to like what William’s troop of models are going to be wearing on stage at the Spade Bar & Lounge. But given that the D New Regulars theme is “Off Duty”, enlisted or not, Soca party people will want to jump up and jump in.   “We have five sections of which four of them tie right into military uniforms,” explained Williams. Two sections have naval themed mas costumes (think male and female white navy uniform tops and of course skimpy bottoms)and two sections based on camo army fatigues.   “I designed all of the costumes and for the fifth section I looked ba...

  2022 Saldenah Carnival Costume Launch By Stephen Weir   Louis Saldenah, Canada’s most winning Mas Man said it before last month's Saldenah Carnival’s Streets of Fire costume launch and he is saying it now for sure. “ I told you so! The people of Toronto are hungry, hungry, hungry for carnival and 2022 is going to be that year, ” predicted Saldenah after his launch party attracted 2,000 people hungry to  look at the costumes that will be worn on the road in this year’s Toronto Caribbean Carnival Grand Parade.   “ I have always said this is going to be the best Carnival ever,” he told the Caribbean Camera. “After two years being cooped up at home without Carnival, I think everyone is saying, “Damn it, let’s just get out there (and jump up).” Louis’s Saldenah Carnival (formally the Mas K Club) holds the record of twenty “Band of the Year” titles for the annual Caribbean Carnival parade. Not only does his band win prizes for the looks of their masquerade...

  No Telling What Will Pop Up By Stephen Weir Photographs by Gilbert Medina   If today is Thursday and you are reading this before 9.30 pm you can totally get outfitted for the Grand Parade at a special registration Pop Up in Scarborough. Coming off a successful Costume Launch in Vaughan, the Carnival Nationz Mas Band has put together a temporary showroom in Scarborough where revelers can get up close and personal and with a roomful of very sexy costume and place orders before the Carnival frenzy begins.   Actually, at least according to Carnival Nationz’ Bryce Aguiton, the madness has already begun. “We had our Saturday night launch on the Easter weekend and the response has been amazing. The calls haven’t stopped. We thought that before we open our permanent Mas Camp we should hold a 3-Day Pop Up in Scarborough to take the pressure off the nonstop calls.”   It started Tuesday evening at the Cinnamon Ru Commercial Plaza on McNicoll Avenue. Running 6.30 to 9.30 all t...

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 th...

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 better.  By holding her new Freedom Mas Band costume launch on Sunday she won bragging rights to being the first Band to hold a launch for Carnival 2022 and also the first band to open their Mas Camp doors and start making masquerade outfits. She set a couple of other milestones on the weekend. Her new band is the only group that will be based in the city of Brampton, and proudly waving the Black, Green and Gold down Lakeshore Blvd in Toronto's Grand Parade on Saturday 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 the day long fete ended. “   We are excited to bring back the Jamaican culture to the Toronto Carnival formally known as Caribana!” “...

CCAP photographers Beyond the Carnival Exhibition has Gone Beyond the Station Gallery Art Bites by Stephen Weir:  The Whitby Station Gallery has closed its gallery doors because of the Pandemic lock-down. However, that doesn’t mean that the non-profit public art gallery has forgotten about the Black History Month , in fact last week the Station Gallery opened, albeit virtually, Beyond the Carnival 4 a new photographic exhibition. “ This photographic exhibition brings together a group of photographers whose mission is to capture and present images that focus on the Pan-Caribbean culture and to create a legacy that highlights the excellent work of Canadian Caribbean photographers,” said gallery curator Olex Wlasenko. In lieu of the shut-down, Wlasenko has filmed a half-hour walk through the exhibition. This video is available on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/events/117228666896210/ . Beyond the Carnival 4 features the works of seven seasoned professionals who are members of...

Carnival Mas or Corona Mess?  Not a Lot of Answers in this Time of Crisis By Stephen Weir Breaking News: I received a note from the SunLime Mas Band l this evening announcing that they have postponed their previously announced March 29th virtual launch "to a later date. We will keep you updated as time goes on". We have also received a notice from the Toronto Revellers that their Saturday April 11th costume launch is being postponed until May. " Due to the current global crisis, we are postponing our band launch to a date in May (TBD)." The picture above is from the SunLime's model shoot which was held two weeks ago. Although the SunLime band has embargoed pictures and videos from that costume photo shoot, I did get permission to use this photograph (again) with the model blurred to obscure the costume. What the Mas Camps, Pan Bands and the Festival Management Committee need right now is the city’s biggest Crystal Ball. Something that will ans...