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2019 CARNIVAL KICK-OFF By Stephen Weir The 2019 Toronto Carnival kicked off early early last Saturday morning, or late late Friday night (take your pick) with Tribal Carnival holding the first Toronto band launch of the season. A non-stop parade of stunning looking male and female models strutted across the Grande Luxe ballroom stage to show an enthusiastic audience what people will be wearing on the road August 3rd for the annual Caribbean Carnival Parade. Established in 2007 Tribal is one of the festival’s most successful touring Mas Bands. Tribal has not only competed successfully in Toronto’s annual festival but is also a driving force in the annual Cayman Islands’ spring Batabano Carnival. This past weekend’s costume launch attracted an estimated crowd of 500 revellers who came out to see Tribal’s costumes and sign up to play Mas with Tribal. Band founder Dexter Seusahai stood on stage and opened the show just before midnight with a silent tribute to people who

Tribal Carnival Has Season's First Costume Launch Friday Night   Dexter and Celena at last year's Tribal costume launch This Afternoon's Caribbean Camera This Morning By Stephen Weir The Big Show starts tomorrow!   The first Toronto Caribbean Carnival's Band Launch begins Friday night when Tribal Carnival, Canada's most successful travelling Mas Bands, takes to the stage at the Grande Luxe Ballroom on Bayview Avenue in North York. Doors open at 9.30 and the show is scheduled to start at 11.30 pm. Mas Bands competiting in this year’s Grand Parade hold late night fetes to introduce the costumes their Mas players will be wearing down the road. This year Tribal’s costume designs are based on the theme of Magic. “Hey Stephen, we will have 80 models on stage at our band launch, with 11 sections,” said Celena Seusahai, the Queen of last year’s parade. “I’ll be wearing the showstopper again and closing the show.”

Elements and Reign – Reign had the biggest crowd, Elements won the WOW factor By Stephen Weir with Craigg Slowly and Don Moreland - Caribbean Camera Don’t try this after a couple of drinks: checking out two costume launches on the same night half a city apart. A few die-hard revellers with fast cars and spotters at both events, managed the impossible seeing both the Fantazia Carnival’s Elements and Sunlime Canada’s Reign costume launches. It is risky business having two events on the same evening, but, the increased interest in this year’s launch shows, meant that neither mas camp was handed their hats, albeit, both have softer attendance numbers than predicted. The launches showcase the costumes that will be worn this year at the August 4 th Toronto Caribbean Carnival parade. Long time costume designer Will Mortimer used the Elements – Earth, Wind and Fire - as the theme of his Fantazia Carnival launch which was held this year at the York Mills Gallery in North To

Original launch date postponed by bad weather Photograph by Anthony Berot De New Regulars and Foreva Carnival 2018 had to put the breaks on their planned April costume launch because of bad bad weather. With spring finally arriving in Toronto, one of Carnival’s longest running Mas Camps is confident that the show will go on for sure this weekend. De New Regulars and Foreva Carnival band Launch will be held May 5th at the Nugget Banquet Hall, (55 Nugget  Ave) in Scarborough. Doors open at 10:00 p.m. Admission is $25 per person and includes dinner, a live steel pan performance, D.J. music and, of course, their costume presentation. The theme for the evening is “Straight Out of John John”. John John refers to a housing district in Trinidad. “Janet Lewis aka “flag woman” is a true Caribbean icon,” reads a press release issued by De New Regulars and Foreva Carnival. “In celebrating Janet’s contributions to Carnival in Toronto and the world, we also recognize the importance of the ro

By Stephen Weir for the Caribbean Camera Louis Saldenah’s Mas-K-Club took no prisoners on Saturday night. The biggest band, with a legacy of winning that stretches back to the early days of Caribana, held a dramatic costume launch at the Chandi Banquet Hall in Scarborough in front an estimated crowd of over two thousand people. Sixteen sections with a theme of the “Wonders of Spring” entertained the audience for 90-minutes of sexy, innovative costumes for both men and women. Costumes shown on Saturday will be worn by the city’s largest band (5,500 anticipated in 2018) during the August 4th Toronto Caribbean Carnival’s Grand Parade. “Louis Saldenah’s Mas-K Club has got class,” said photographer Don Moreland. “Louis filled the place, the whole event had a great vibe at the Hall.” Moreland has covered all of the Carnival launches this season and reports that the Saldenah’s launch was one of the best he has worked .... ever. “Louis is good at what he’s into and that is Carnival,” he

--> Superstar Machel Montano performing at a rare afternoon costume launch. Machel Montano on College Street By Stephen Weir    The Atlantic Mas camp, with the help of Soca superstar singer Machel Montano, has saved the best for last!   Bandleader Akil Heywood says that their third annual costume launch will be held at the Rebel Nightclub (Polson Pier) the afternoon of May 19 th . “Not everyone wants to stay up until 3am in the morning at a costume launch.   We are holding a launch in the afternoon, with Machel Montano performing on stage at the Rebel nightclub. The Rebel nightclub is one of Toronto’s largest and most popular concert destinations,” said Mr. Heywood. “We are calling the launch an ‘Invitation to Dance’ with a theme we call Semba,” he continued.   “ It is the Victoria Day long weekend, the perfect way to spend holiday Saturday.” Getting the Trinidad based performer known as the Soca King, to perform at a costume launch is no mean feat. Mac