Stephen Weir articles, editorials and popular social media weir postings

Crowning Glory - Fourpeat For Calypso Winner    The scrum - photographers take pictures of the coronation Canada has a new monarch. She was crowned last night. All hail Macomere FiFi. She is one of Canada's most successful Calypso singers, and last night, in Toronto, she won Canada’s top calypso music prize – Kaiso 365 – before a capacity crowd in the P.C. Ho Theatre, Chinese Cultural Centre. In a hotly contested battle between nine singers performing two songs each, Trinidadian-born Macomere Fifi also won the coveted People’s Choice Award and Special Awards for Best Composition On A Local Topic and Best Arrangement. Fifi’s first song, “Never Again”, was a powerful commentary about the honour killing of the Shafia sisters; her second number titled “Tell Me Why” probed the issues surrounding the death of Trayvon Martin. OCPA president Colin Benjamin is hugged by the new Monarch Eulith Tara Woods Trinidadian-born Macomere Fifi also wo...

Fresh from the frying pan! Black Sage chef holds up a Bake and Shark dish!  Bake and Shark.  Third Annual Blocko in Toronto during the Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival Toronto Bake and Shark is a very popular street food sold in Trinidad and Tobago but is difficult to find in Toronto ... except during Carnival. It is one of those must-try items if you attend any Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival Toronto events,or if you attend a Mas Camp Blocko! On Saturday, June 30th the Black Sage Carnival Mas Camp held its third annual Bake and Shark Blocko. A huge crowd came out on Saturday to attend the party held on Barbados Blvd (Eglinton and Brimley). Bake refers to fried dough. The inside of the bake is hallow and that is where the shark meat is stuffed. Black Sage was serving up authentic Maracas Beach (Trinidad) Bake and Shark which means that the dish was seasoned with all the fixings, including: Shadow Beni, Garlic Sauce, Tambarind Sauce, Pepper Sauce, Ketchup, C...

  Being Ousted from the Best Seat at the Griffin Poetry Prize Bernard Gauthier (Bravo TV) and myself arrived early at the Griffin Poetry Prize award dinner in Toronto on June 7. The Distillery District hall doors had only been open for a few minutes. We were one of the first to be welcomed by Scott and Krystyne Griffin, the founders and funders of the Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry. The prize is the largest annual award for a single book of poetry in the world. I had trouble hearing our hosts because of the Mexican mariachi band that had just begun to tune up. I am sure I would have heard all the details about the seating arrangements if I leaned a little closer in. We entered the large exposed brick space that was once used for the fermentation of millions of gallons of liquor. The room soon began to fill with everyone I have read in the past 10 years. Michael Ondaatje, Margaret Atwood, Christopher Dwedney, Richard Gwyn. There were TV stars journalists, and former gover...

Spectators at last year's Caribbean Carnival Festival parade in Toronto Media manage to quickly link Eaton shooting with North America's largest Caribbean Canadian festival Late last week I joked with my associate Craigg Slowly (@ThatTDotGuy) that it would be only a matter of time before CFRB right wing on-air host Jerry Agar would link the Eaton Centre shooting with the Caribbean Carnival Toronto (the carnival formally known as Caribana). Don't know if Agar has taken a run at us yet, but, other media outlets have indeed made the tenuous link between an inner-city gang shooting at the Eaton Centre and North America's largest Caribbean cultural event. The Globe and Mail on Saturday did a feature on public safety at Yonge and Dundas and somehow managed to use the Caribana name.  The reporter, Kelly Grant, listed some of the murders that had occurred near the Dundas / Yonge intersection. In that list was the 2005 murder of a Brampton man in Dundas Squa...

Toronto Carnival’s offical media launch attendees - photo and story by Stephen Weir  Caribbean Graphic Canada Magazine 618 Strouds Lane, Pickering, ON L1V 4S9 • Tel: 905.831-4402 • Fax: 416.292.2943 • Email: caribbeangraphic@rogers.com Canada All Set For Toronto’s Carnival (May 30, 2012) ... The stage is all set for the Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival’s big parade on August 4th. As the 45th year for the festival formerly known as Caribana, 2012 promises to be much bigger with new events, new locations and additional corporate sponsors. It all starts July 17th at Toronto’s Nathan Phillip’s Square, home of Toronto’s City Hall, That’s the date and venue for the Festival’s Official Public Launch. On July 21st, Downsview Park will host the Junior Carnival Parade, a Kiddie’s version of the big parade. Last year over 2,000 children performed for the judges and played Mas along the streets of the Jane Finch corridor. Downsview Park, better suited to handle the growing...