Stephen Weir articles, editorials and popular social media weir postings

  FMC who Run the CCT now have the CCAN! By Stephen Weir Minister Chu and Carnival Kids Late last week Jennifer Michelle Hirlehey, the board chair of the Festival Management Committee (FMC), which oversees the annual Caribbean Carnival in Toronto, issued a statement announcing the formation of the Caribbean Community Advocacy Network (CCAN). Writing in the latest edition of the social media-based Toronto Carnival Insider, Hirlehey commented on the success of last week’s Carnival Launch at the Scarborough Town Centre. All levels of government were present at the launch, and the Board Chair said she is “deeply encouraged by the expressions of support from representatives of the Government at the Federal, Provincial, and Municipal levels,” so much so that the FMC is moving ahead with the creation of this new advocacy arm. What exactly is the new CCAN? Hirlehey explains, “While the FMC and the carnival remain non-political, we are dedicated to promoting socio-political, cultural, and e...

  OCPA will sing for you supper (err your brunch) By Stephen Weir. The Organization of Calypso Performing Artistes (OCPA) is kicking off the 2014 summer carnival season with a delectable meal and captivating live music to complement the feast. It all begins at noon on Sunday, May 19th, at Scarborough’s Spade Bar & Lounge and Calypso bar located at 3580 McNicoll Avenue. OCPA’s second annual "Fun Raising" Brunch will be hosted at an establishment renowned for its Caribbean cuisine and passion for live Calypso music. The $35 meal will be served from 12 pm to 3 pm. The official launch will take place a month after this week’s Brunch. OCPA performers will be part of the Toronto Caribbean Carnival Festival Launch on June 15th at the Scarborough Town Center. Earlier this week, OCPA distributed a poster detailing all the events the Calypsonians plan to host this summer. This poster includes all ten events scheduled by OCPA and is expected to be posted online on the OCPA website (...

  Carnival Nationz Saturday Night Launch by Stephen Weir Photos by Gilbert Medina They won last year. Can they do it again? Judging by last Saturday night’s costume launch, Carnival Nationz has a good shot at the Band of the Year title when they hit the road at the August 3rd 2024 Grande Parade. Band leader Curtis Eustace told the Caribbean Camera that about 1,000 people came out to the Tam Heather Curling Club to watch the late-night costume show. To say that the presentation was out of this world is not far from the truth – the theme this year is The Metaverse. No worries, while computers and AI make up the metaverse, the models on stage at the launch looked very human in their brand new skimpy costumes. With the carnival’s perennial launch host SKF and CHUM FM morning host Jamar egging on the crowd to scream, the section models kept the hall rocking till almost 3 am as they danced down the catwalk nonstop. This year, Carnival Nationz will have 11 sections on the road during the ...

Louis Saldana’s One Two Grand Parade Costume Punch by Stephen Weir Early last week, Louis Saldenah promised the Caribbean Camera that he was planning to put on a “HUGE Launch Party” on Saturday night. When the doors opened at his 2024 costume launch at the Grand Cinnamon Banquet & Convention Hall in Scarborough, it was obvious he had kept his word (and then some). SECTION TAKE A BOW AT SATURDAY'S COSTUME “We had approximately 1,100 people attend our costume launch last Saturday night,” Saldenah told the Caribbean Camera. And Saldenah hasn’t stopped thinking big. Tonight (Thursday), Part Two hits the boards with the official opening of the Saldenah Mas Camp in Scarborough. This year, Saldenah Carnival has over 15 sections, and most had males and females showing their stuff at Saturday night’s event. The theme for the evening was Sky High, so it was fitting that the models who came flying were, for the most part, bedecked in colourful feathers. KING COSMOS ON STAGE (RIGHT) There...

  On DECEMBER 2nd THE CONNECTOR AND FRIENDS ARE HOLDING AN EPIC CHILDREN'S HOLIDAY PARTY Tis the Season for Giving: Connector Soca Music and E.P.I.C Carnival Join Forces for Toy Drive & Children's Holiday Party As the holiday season approaches, Canadian Calypso singing star Joel Davis and the E.P.I.C Carnival mas band are coming together to connect the children with the joys of Christmas. Davis (the Connector) and E.P.I.C are hard at work organizing the coming third annual Toy Drive and Children's Holiday Party. This festive event promises to bring smiles to the faces of young ones and create lasting holiday memories. The highlight of this initiative is the Children's Holiday Party scheduled to take place on Sunday, December 2, 2023, at the Twilight Family Restaurant (55 Nugget Ave) from 1 pm to 4 pm in Scarborough. To make this holiday season extra special for those in need, the Toy Drive kicks off on November 14th and will run until the day of the Children's H...

Brother Here. Brother There. Check out Netflix But Be Quick About It. First, there was the book. Then, there were many book prizes. Next? A movie based on his novel was showcased at TIFF, and it received numerous awards. Earlier, it was screened in theaters across Canada. David Chariandy's Scarborough-based story, "Brother," has made history in both the literary and cinematic realms in Canada. For Canadians who missed out on David Chariandy's "Brother," you have one last chance to discover the phenomenon. Netflix is now streaming the film made in the GTA. However, the streaming service warns that you only have a month to watch it, as the movie will disappear from its catalog on November 21. Chariandy holds the Toronto book prize - sweir pix The film stars Aaron Pierre as Francis and Lamar Johnson as Michael, with supporting cast members including Kiana Madeira, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Lovell Adams-Gray, Maurice Dean Wint, and Dwain Murphy. The screenplay was...

Hallelujah. Maybe this time it will happen The Canadian Radio and Television Commission made a decision on Tuesday that allows for a religious broadcasting company to create a radio station specializing in religious music in British Columbia with a transmitter in Saskatoon and here in North Toronto.  “ The Commission approves an application byUnited Christian Broadcasters Media Canada to operate three English-language specialty (religious music) FM radio stations in Kelowna, British Columbia, and its rebroadcasting transmitter in Kamloops, British Columbia; in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and in Scarborough, Ontario” read yesterday’s decision. “The Commission also approved an application filed by International Harvesters for a broadcasting licence to operate an English-language specialty (religious music) FM radio station in Scarborough, Ontario.  The decision might sound familiar.  As the Caribbean Camera reported last summer during the pandemic that the CRTC ...

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...

Two Radio Station News Shorts by Stephen Weir Scarborough’s Second FM Station Still Two Years Away! You wouldn't think there's any more room for another radio in Toronto, but the Canadian Radio and Television Commission (CRTC) has decided to squeeze in one more. The CRTC gave the station the nod back in April and made it official last month when it approved a licence for the International Harvesters for Christ Evangelistic Association and their new station 105.3 FM. Don’t go looking and listening for the station just yet, the new Scarborough outlet – CKSC - says that it will be up and broadcasting by April 28th, 2023. The new micro-broadcasting station’s 150-watt signal won’t reach too far outside of Scarborough – in contrast G.98.7’s FM signal at its peak time is 1,000 Watts (and has difficulty being heard in downtown Toronto. According to the CRTC the new station “indicated that it would broadcast 126 hours of programming each broadcast week on the proposed station, of w...