Stephen Weir articles, editorials and popular social media weir postings

  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 ...

  What If You Spend the End of Black History Month In Mississauga check out Carnival Parade costumes? Looks like Mississauga's Black History Month's final significant event for 2024 is set to take place this Sunday at the city’s Small Arms Inspection Building on Lakeshore Road. The Freedom Mas Band is concluding the month with the year's first Carnival costume launch, which they've named the Black History Month Carnival Edition! The Freedom Mas Band is an integral part of the annual Toronto Caribbean Carnival and is scheduled to participate in the Grand Parade in Toronto on August 3rd. Band leader Johanna Grant shared with reporter Stephen Weir that the Band Launch on Sunday afternoon will unveil their new costume lines inspired by the 2024 theme, "What If." The free launch event is scheduled to run from 11 am to 6 pm. Alongside the adult and children carnival costume launch, there will be a vendor's market, music, and activities for children. Throughout ...

TOP CARNIVAL AND SOCA SONGS IN 2023 The 10 Best Songs of 2023: We ask the paper’s FRIENDS to Picks 'Em It is a tradition that almost all newspapers follow when one year ends and another begins. What were the best songs of the year just ended? Some list the 10 best, others shoot for 100. With hip-hop no longer dominating the music world, drawing up the list isn’t as easy as it looks. Of course, there are big names that continue to churn out the road marches, but it is the 'where did they come from' that makes it all fun. This tone-deaf writer is the last person who should put together anything related to new music. So for this year's article, I have done it differently. I have looked at the songs that I heard on the Lakeshore and at the launches and the fetes, and what was happening at carnival events in the Caribbean and the UK. Then, I went to the experts to see what they thought of 2023, and of course, we went with them." It is a tradition that almost all newspa...

 RESIGNATIONS BRING REFLECTION TO FMC After 17 years of "dedicated involvement" with the Festival Management Committee (FMC), Accountant Eddison Doyle has made "the difficult decision" to step down from his position as CFO.  This time, he says, it is a permanent choice driven by personal reasons and the belief that it is the right time for him to move on. Despite the timing being close to the upcoming grand parade, Doyle is confident that his departure will pave the way for success and foster a more collaborative and communicative organization. He extends his best wishes to the FMC, expressing gratitude for the hard work of the board, CEO, and festival general manager.  As one of the founding directors alongside Joe Halstead and Courtney Betty, Doyle takes immense pride in the organization's achievements, including 17 years of clean audits, a cumulative surplus, and the successful implementation of the Black Business Educational Program (BBEP) which he spearhead...

  Wow and Boo Hoo. It's all over until next year! We already miss them! The last two mas band costume launches for this summer's Toronto Caribbean Carnival took place over the weekend.  Fantazia launched on Saturday at the Eve Event Space on Northwest Drive in Mississauga, while SugaCayne had their launch on Sunday at their headquarters located at 150 Yorkland Blvd in Toronto.  Take our word for it; many sexy outfits were showcased on stage, and a significant number of costumes were sold. Prior to the start of the evening show, Fantazia Carnival, led by Will and Lisa Morton, informed the audience that they were about to witness a world of the  unexpected, where "Odds and Oddities" come to life! As these pictures  demonstrate, the costumes showcased “the curious trinkets of life's grand  bazaar”. Similar to what fans have seen with other mas camps' offerings, the women's costumes were engineering feats, strategically hiding naughty parts with minimal materi...

  Airline makes sure that revellers can get their fill of carnival this August! Can’t get enough of carnival now that the pandemic is on the run.When the Toronto Caribbean Carnival winds down on August 7 th  Caribbean Airlines is adding extra flights from Toronto to let revellers jet off to Grenada to take part in Spice Mas! Caribbean Airlines, just announced that it will be adding extra flights from Toronto and New York to Grenada in anticipation of that island’s coming carnival celebration. The Spice Mas Festival is an annual carnival that takes place in Grenada and attracts thousands of visitors from around the world. It is a celebration of Grenadian culture and features live music, dancing, parades, and colorful costumes. Caribbean Airlines says that it has recognized the growing popularity of the Spice Mas Festival and has decided to increase its flights to Grenada to accommodate the influx of visitors. The airline will be adding an additional flight from Toronto and two ...

TAKING IT TO THE STREETS  By Stephen Weir  Photographer Anthony Berot is taking his art to the streets, even if it means that he and his Mas Model must be prepared to dodge cars, bikes, and bell ringing streetcars.     For the past 12-years Berot has been the official photographer of the Toronto Caribbean Carnival taking pictures of it all, costume launches to the Grand Parade. And now as of Sunday night as the last costume launch ends, Berot is posting samples of all of the 2022 costume events. Pictured above is Mas Model and NBA Dancer for the Toronto Raptors Mohogany Brown poses for Berot on Queen Street West outside of the LuLu Lounge after the end of Sunday night’s SugaCayne costume fete. The portrait was taken without flash, instead he used street lights, shop window reflections and the glare of oncoming traffic did get the trick done.   “It is SugaCayne on the road!” explained Berot. “ Mohogany is wearing  one of the beautiful designs showed ear...

 2022 Saldenah Carnival Costume Launch   By Stephen Weir / Photographs by Herman Silochan and Gilbert Medina. 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).”     Photograph by Herman Silochan  Louis’s S aldenah Car nival (formally the Mas K Club) holds the record of twenty “Band of the Year” titles ...