Stephen Weir articles, editorials and popular social media weir postings

  And So It Begins. Photographer Anthony Berot Is Comin’ ANTHONY BEROT WITH BANDLEADER PHOTOS - BY SWEIR By Stephen Weir   Anthony Berot has already covered two costume launches in the past week, an FMC open house and is already getting his gear ready for a busy busy April. The EPIC carnival and SunLime launches are in the books and Jamaal Magloire’s Revellers launch at the Grand Luxe  coming up this weekend. The official photographer of the 2023 Toronto Caribbean Carnival figures this his 13 th  year taking pictures of the festival formally known as Caribana. A tall fit 70 something man, he is easy to spot at any and ALL carnival happenings. He has his video camera on a tripod, a camera (often two) around his neck, and when the Soca music is blaring he is dancin’ beside and around his gear. The colourful costume launches.  Blockos.  Children’s events. The King and Queen contest, Pan Alive and the Grand Parade. No living photographer in Canad...

What will happen to Caribbean Carnival '20? By Stephen Weir The Caribbean Camera has learned that the Festival Management Committee (FMC) which runs the annual Toronto Caribbean Carnival will meet later this week to decide what is going to happen to this year’s annual July festival and their signature August 1 Grand Parade. With the announcement on Tuesday that the City of Toronto is cancelling all major events until June 30 (and leaving the door open to closing all further summer events) because of the virus pandemic, carnival stakeholders must decide if they are going to proceed with the parade, moving it to a later date in the year or simply postponing it until next year. For the FMC, the timing for its 2020 Toronto Caribbean Carnival, is now a big crapshoot. If the festival is to proceed with its mid-July kick-off, the mas’ bands have to begin opening their mas camps, holding band launches, building costumes and renting trucks for the parade. If the City ends up ex...

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...

Dwayne and Whitey (r) By Stephen Weir The Sunlime Canada mas band’s annual costume launch is coming to a computer near you.  On Sunday, March 29 th , the ever-popular medium sized band will be staging a live fashion show that can only be seen on the Internet. “ We are trying something new for Toronto, a virtual launch!” said Sunlime spokesman Niles “Whitey” Koski. “ We were going to have a standard launch party and then we decided to be strictly online.” “ We aren’t doing this because of the Virus.  I have been asked that a lot lately,” he told the Caribbean Camera. “ But no, we came up with the idea back in December.” Sunlime isn’t saying, at least not yet, where the launch will be held. The suggestion is that it will be in a hall in Toronto, where there is enough room for a large stage and professional lighting to make for good Internet viewing. DJ Toxic and MC Kevin Carrington will be the on-air ringmasters. Sunlime will also have a small live audience...

Toronto   Caribbean Carnival Costume Fashion Shows The feathers, the fishnet stockings, the tights and the angel wings have been put away and now it’s the children’s turn to show their stuff on stage.  Now that  the eleven Toronto Mas Bands have held their late night costume launches,  it is time weekend costume daytime launches for children wanting to take part in this year’s Junior Carnival and Family Day. The costumes that are being shown in the Mas Camps are what youngsters will be wearing when they take part in the Junior Parade. Often called the Kiddies Costume Parade, the event is put on the by Toronto’s Mas Bands and volunteers from the Toronto Caribbean Carnival and will be held on Saturday July 21 st at Neilson Park in Scarborough.  Over the past weekend two large Mas Camps staged parties and fashion show for youngsters and their parents. Both the Toronto Revellers and Carnival Nationz report strong interest from parents and th...