Stephen Weir articles, editorials and popular social media weir postings

  Not the last carnival of the summer B y Stephen Weir   It didn’t stop their parade last weekend, but that province wide Saturday’s rainstorm soaked the city of Belleville almost as much as what happened in Toronto. The third annual Belleville Caribbean Parade had a start time of 1 p.m last Saturday and according to weather reports on the day, that’s just about when it started raining on the small city. By 2 p.m., there was fog and a full-blown thunderstorm.   It takes more than rain to stop a carnival parade, but it did impact the size of the audience that normally line the side of the road to cheer on the revellers and a number of King and Queen costumes conscripted from last month’s Toronto Caribbean Carnival competition. “Despite a little rain, the celebration was nothing short of amazing,” reported the organizers of the annual Belleville Caribbean Festival. “The vibrant culture, delicious food, and lively music brought our community together in the best way possible.” This year,

WIDAFEST WINDSOR'S NEW AFRO/CARRIBEAN FESTIVAL IN JULY Although this will be the first year that Windsor will have an African/Caribbean outdoor downtown festival, WIDAFEST will have an experienced festival hand on the tiller. Chris Alexander, a long-time event organizer and former Chief Operating Officer of the Toronto Caribbean Carnival, is now the festival's vice-president and is assisting in getting the seven-day event off the ground. WIDAFEST is the buzzword name for the Windsor International Diaspora African Festival, which is set to make its debut in the city from July 23rd to 30th. It will showcase the rich and diverse cultures of Africa and the Caribbean diaspora  outdoors in downtown Windsor "We are excited to be launching WIDAFEST along Windsor ’ s safe people-friendly Detroit River waterfront," said Chris Alexander. "Windsor is a growing diverse city, and we plan to make this a popular annual event for the people of Windsor and Detroit. ” The festival