Stephen Weir articles, editorials and popular social media weir postings

Just keep your eyes on the flag sir. Caribbean swimsuits for 2024 Haiti Carnival memories dwindle into nothing in the rear-view mirror. The feathered costumes, the high-heeled shoes, and even the pocket flag doo-rags have been relegated to the storage room. If you are planning to go South once the snow flies, thanks to Etsy, there is no need to worry about not being able to wiggle your flag on the beach! Just in time to winter in the Caribbean, Etsy Canada has just listed on its website almost 800 different men’s and women’s bathing suits that incorporate individual island flags and coats of arms in the product. Their merchants' new Caribbean Swimwear bikinis and one-piece suits are cheap, simple, and sexy—well, maybe not as sexy as what we saw this August 4th going down the road. Whether male or female, think 'Oh la las' and not wolf whistles as you wade into the calm blue Caribbean Sea. And poolside, expect fast, maybe even over-attentive service from the hardworking youn...

Two Different Approaches For The Saturday night Battle of the Bands By Stephen Weir  Photographs by Stephen Weir  Jully Black from reggae singer to Soca sailor Two Mas Men went head-to-head on Saturday night and both came out winners, each in their own way.   A pair of Caribbean Carnival Band launches were held on the same night – one in North Toronto and the other in Malvern.    The two band leaders   - Raptor celeb Jamaal Magloire (Toronto Revellers) and Will Morton (Fantazia) took two different approaches to showing off the costumes that their bands will be wearing on the road this summer. In the business of Mas, the winners and losers of a Battle of the Bands, is ultimately not determined by the number of people that attended (in which case Jamaal won hands down) but rather by the number of costume buyers who decide to sign on the bottom line as a result of the fashion show.   The Revellers won at the gate, and Fantazia had th...