Stephen Weir articles, editorials and popular social media weir postings

  One Last Time – Raising the Black, Red and White in Mississauga Photos by Horace Thorne   If people in the GTA didn’t know whose colours are  black, red, and white,  after August 31 st  they do now. The people of Trinidad and Tobago celebrated that country’s 60 th  anniversary with events, ceremonies, parties, soccer matches, Cricket games and flag-raising ceremonies. Photographer Horace Thorne who took these pictures, is also the president of the  Trinidad and Tobago Association of Ontario. He covered the Mississauga First Flag Raising ceremony to mark T&T’s Diamond Jubilee  for the Caribbean Camera . The event, was planned for the most part by the association’s vice president, Jean Turner Williams and  was held at Mississauga’s  City Hall. “The City Hall did a wonderful job,” reported Thorne. “There  was a slight shower, so we all moved inside, for the speeches, and food.” Once inside, the Mayor Designate, Councillor Dipika Dermeria spoke on behalf of the city and Consul Genera

  Henry, so how do we get to hear the music? Last week the Caribbean Camera published a news story about 55 Still Alive, a Calypso song written by performing artist King Cosmos, that is meant to commemorate the 55 th  anniversary of the Toronto Caribbean Carnival. Last week the song was still being worked up and we didn’t tell readers how to hear the new music.  Bad mistake, you the readers let us know that it was unfair to hold back on the tune. Well, we hate to do this again but Calypso fans will have to wait until the end of the month.  The song drops June 1 st  on Spotify, Apple Music and all the other social media music platforms. What will you hear? The call-and-response style song pays tribute to  Canada’s largest multi-cultural festival from past to present. Composed, written and produced by King Cosmos (Henry Gomez) is all about the originators, artists, organizations and stakeholders who nurtured the festival since its inception in 1967.  Mixed and mastered by Ossie Gurley, c

Historic T&T ice cream now being pedaled in Ontario mainstream stores   Charles Neale (stylized) For Trinis who have long memories remember Sweet N’ Nice, a traditional  San Fernando street ice cream. For readers who have no idea what we are talking about, the sweet news is that many major supermarket chains in the province are stocking (or about to) this Caribbean style ice cream.  Photo Left  Charles Neale Some 80 years ago, Charles Neale was a fixture on the streets of Port O Spain.  He created ice cream flavours from the fruits that grow on the island, guava, pineapple, and coconuts.  Selling from an icebox attached to his bike he would pedal through the streets calling out to the kids “Come get your Sweet N’ Nice Ice Cream.” Charles Neale is gone now, but his daughter Rose and his grandchildren are using those original recipes to give consumers an all-natural product that isn’t chocolate based. Made in Vaughan north of the city the family has bi

 BUSY BEING CREATIVE IN HER DOWNTOWN TORONTO DIGS Rhoma Spencer is an actor, director, storyteller and broadcast journalist who began her career in her birth nation of Trinidad and Tobago.   On stage, performing in TV shows, movies parts, and public events; heck, I have even seen her in costume at a high profile Scarborough funeral last year. Up until the virus shutdown Spencer was one of the busiest live performance actresses in Toronto.  Over the weekend she did a Question / Answer with our reporter Stephen Weir. Question 1:  Where are you spending the quarantine? If you are alone, do you have ways of communicating with friends and family? Answer 1 : I spend it at home in downtown Toronto with two other family members in my three bedroom townhouse. Question 2:  As an actress and entertainer and performer, you seem to be always involved in very cool projects. What was 2020 shaping up to be for you before the shutdown? Answer 2:  The year started off with a bang i

Etienne Charles and his trumpet waiting out this virus  By Stephen Weir In the old days (last month)  jazz man   Etienne  Charles was a man in motion. Always on the move. He was here. He was there.  He was up on the stage. He was in the air. But that was then.  In the here and now, the 36-year old trumpeter is just like all of our readers.  He has been grounded, his luggage in storage and he is waiting out the virus in his home in Michigan. Trinidad’s  Charles holds a master's of music degree from Juilliard and teaches at Michigan State University. He travels the world playing concerts, recording music and playing Mas in T&T and Canada! "The reason I'm a trumpet player began when I was on a family trip to Toronto as a three-year-old," the trumpeter, recording star, composer, bandleader and teacher told the Camera.“ I visited an uncle and was able to make a sound on his saxophone. At age 10, the same uncle gave me a trumpet and a different mu

Bacchanal in d’ Centennial Park uses all the Caribbean Arts to tell Carnival story By Stephen Weir - Caribbean Camera Do you have 45-minutes to give your all to the traditions of Carnival? This Sunday afternoon 45 actors, stick fighters, stilt walkers and Calypso stars will come Dingolay in the Centennial Park and the whole city is invited watch. At 3pm Ol' Time Carnival, Bacchanal in d' Plantation Yard! takes over the northwest corner of the park located at Markham and Ellesmere Ave in Scarborough. This is a free, rain or shine event that organizers describe as “being very family friendly!” “ Ol’ Time Carnival came about after I met a young woman who told me she was going to be playing Mas in the Toronto’s Carnival Parade. I asked her if she knew why we play Mas. She said she didn’t know, which made me mad,” show co-producer and writer Jacky Forde told the Caribbean Camera in a late night mas camp interview earlier this week. “But then we (pointing at her husband Clar

THIS IS ONE LIVE SHOW THAT WON'T BE RUDDERLESS By Stephen Weir There are still a few good tickets left for this Saturday night's Rudder 6.5 concert at the Sony Centre For The Performing Arts. The Canadian-based singer and composer David Michael Rudder turned 65 this year and is celebrating with his keynote 6.5 show. --> " I was in Trinidad last month and I wanted to sing 65 songs over the evening," he told me in a phone interview. " I didn't time it right - managed to sing 60 before the show ended." --> " Not sure how many I will sing at the Sony Centre, and I am not sure what songs I will sing," he continued. "I want to leave it up to my fans. They can go to my website or Facebook and tell me what they want me sing! You know I am going to do all of the old favourites." --> Five years ago, David Rudder played a concert in Trinidad that he called David Rudder 6.0 and perfo