Stephen Weir articles, editorials and popular social media weir postings

Linked Stories From Nassau.  People Just Don’t Understand By Stephen Weir Wow – the young-uns knew a long time ago what an incredible story-teller Bahamian Canadian author  Janice Lynn Mather is. Later this month it will be the adults turn to discover this  Governor General's Literary Award-winning novelists with the release of her new book Uncertain Kin. The Vancouver based writer first made a name for herself here in Canada with her first two books, Learning to Breathe and Facing the Sun. Not only did the Young Adult titles make a splash with junior high schoolers they won awards and were nominated for some biggies too. Now she is about to return to the bookstore shelves with her first adult work of fiction.   Uncertain Kin   is a collection of linked   stories about the lives of women and girls living in The Bahamas and Canada. Eighteen strange haunting stories introduce us to women and girls searching for identity and belonging during moments of profound upheaval. “I like to r

  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 costumes they also bring the

  Another Letter To Her Excellency the Right Honourable Julie Payette At the beginning of this year The Caribbean Camera published an editorial that asked you to include ALL Canadians in your decision making process when you decide who is to join the ranks of Order of Canada.  Good news, ten months later -- it appears you listened and have now included a single person of colour amongst the latest additions to this exclusive club. One out of 114. Yes it was a baby step and yes you have a long way to go. But we rejoice that our Queen’s representative has noticed us! It was in our January 8 th  edition that our erstwhile reporter Stephen Weir penned an editorial that pointed out to you, The Governor General, that your December 2019 list of citizens who had earned the  Order of Canada had a lot of people missing – specifically the names of people of colour. He also pointed out that this wasn’t the first time your appointment list did not include a single person of colour. In the summer of

FILM MAKER, ACTRESS AND COMEDIAN HAS  LEARNED TO  PLAY THE GUITAR DURING THIS  LONG LONG SHUTDOWN Wow.  But You’re Not Black is travelling to cities this fall we Canadians can’t get to. Earlier this month the Caribbean Camera printed my story about the short autobiographical movie by Scarborough’s  Danielle Ayow which will be showing at next month’s CaribbeanTales Film Festival.   What we didn’t say was that even though the movie has never been shown to a paying audience before, and while most theatres and film festivals have had to go online – Ayow’s funny and brave story is already making waves! Why is there so much interest in the 30-minute film about Ayow’s struggle to be seen not as a Chinese woman but as a Trini! As part of the paper’s semi-regular feature about how members of the Caribbean Canadian community is handling the Pandemic quarantine, I went back to ask Ayow a few questions about how she is doing these days and dig a little bit more into what is making But You’re Not

Caribbean Tales Film Festival's BoomFlik headliner Jamaica's first horror/gangsta film is Nefarious (real bloody too)   Review by Stephen Weir   Lock the doors. Bolt the windows.  And whatever you do, after you seen Jamaica’s horror film Nefarious don’t go walking the streets of Kingston, Jamaica at night. No matter what. This Jamaican  horror film – it was made in 2018 – is coming to Canada for its first public showing at the 15th annual Caribbean Tales Film Festival. It's headlining CTFF’s September 18th Boomflik  An evening dedicated to the screening of Jamaican films No matter how many  made in Jamaican movies viewers might have seen over the 15 year history of the CTFF, no one has seen a Jamaican film  like Nefarious – the island’s first ever horror/gangsta flick. Gang bangers, bandit street fighters. vampires and demons walk the streets of a Kingston ghetto, killing everyone who gets in the way. Mark (played by high school teacher/actor Kevoy Williams) tries to live o

Caribbean stars win big at JUNOs By Stephen Weir A long anticipated and much delayed award ceremony took place on line over the past week. The JUNOS, which honour Canada’s best recording artists, were originally scheduled to be given out on stage in Saskatoon in mid-March but were cancelled because of the Virus lockdown.  On Monday evening the 42 JUNO Awards were presented online. The big winners were  singer-songwriter Alessia Cara (3 awards) and Sean Mendes (Single of the Year Award). For the second year in a row, nine-time JUNO Award winner Avril Lavigne won for JUNO Fan Choice Three Caribbean Canadian performers from the GTA were nominated for Junos in the categories of Reggae, R&B /Soul Recording and Rap. Brampton’s Daystar Peterson (aka Tory Lanez) Tory Lanez maintained his reign of the Rap Recording of the Year category, marking his third consecutive win, as well as being the first artist to win in both the Rap Recording and R&B/Soul Recording catego

Protest bring Blacks and Whites to Toronto demanding change By The Caribbean Camera Inc. on June 13, 2020 I was probably one of the oldest people taking part in Saturday’s Queen’s Park march and demonstration. Everyone was so polite, even one of the giant police horses that were hidden away north of the Parliament Building showed some difference as I walked by. On a sunny warm Saturday afternoon thousands of people marched from Trinity Bellwoods Park in the west end of the city to Queens Park to protest anti-black racism and police brutality. And that was just one of two marchers in Toronto another parade started at Nathan Phillips Square and ended at the Yonge-Dundas Square for two hours of speeches, sign waving and chanting. Both events went on without a hitch. There was no violence, and the only arrest that the Caribbean Camera heard about was at City Hall where a white man showed up in black face. Protestors suggested that the police did the man a favour by ta

Kevin and Raesha signed on for hosting duties Information is scant right now but get ready for a media dump from the FMC about the Digital 2020 Toronto Caribbean Carnival   Raesha Sirois   By Stephen Weir  When it comes to the upcoming Virtual Toronto Caribbean Carnival  MUM s is the word as far as detailed information about the event is concerned.  However the Caribbean Camera has heard through the grapevine that a deluge of information the 2020 Digital Carnival is soon to be released by the organizers of this unique online July event. We do know that the  Toronto Caribbean Carnival 2020 is getting ready to digitally jump up beginning July 3 rd  with an official City Hall Proclamation of Toronto Caribbean Carnival Month. Over the next four weeks there will be programming of Steelpan music, live Calypso performances, a virtual King and Queen competition, a Junior Parade and the Grand Parade itself. “For several nights in July there will be performances using footag

 BUSY BEING CREATIVE IN HER DOWNTOWN TORONTO DIGS Rhoma Spencer is an actor, director, storyteller and broadcast journalist who began her career in her birth nation of Trinidad and Tobago.   On stage, performing in TV shows, movies parts, and public events; heck, I have even seen her in costume at a high profile Scarborough funeral last year. Up until the virus shutdown Spencer was one of the busiest live performance actresses in Toronto.  Over the weekend she did a Question / Answer with our reporter Stephen Weir. Question 1:  Where are you spending the quarantine? If you are alone, do you have ways of communicating with friends and family? Answer 1 : I spend it at home in downtown Toronto with two other family members in my three bedroom townhouse. Question 2:  As an actress and entertainer and performer, you seem to be always involved in very cool projects. What was 2020 shaping up to be for you before the shutdown? Answer 2:  The year started off with a bang i

Caribbean Tales Film Festival is going online!   The theatres were booked, the movies picked and the stars were making plans to come to the city and walk the Caribbean Tales International’s (CTFF) red carpet this September.  On Wednesday the CTFF advised the Caribbean Camera’s Stephen Weir that while the show must go on, it will not be taking place in any bijous in the year of COVID 19! “It is not happening in theatres this year. It will be a live-stream festival,” spokeswoman Fennella Bruce told the Caribbean Camera. “ It won't (be held in any movie house), unless there is a drastic change in COVID-19 protocol from Provincial and Toronto Health Officials.” The 15th annual movie fest will now run from September 9th until October 2nd and will take place on-line with eight individual nights of films and 25 short films of live-stream entertainment.  As well, during the summer months there will be community programming made available through the festival’s innovative