Stephen Weir articles, editorials and popular social media weir postings

On Stage and Out in Space – Getting Our Kids To Think Big By Stephen Weir for Caribbean Camera Thursday evening was a special evening for Toronto science geeks … of any age. Over 200 people, many of the children, came out to the Ontario Science Centre to listen to a real Canadian science hero, Dr. Dave Williams. The 66-year old retired astronaut was on stage with Andrew Bedeau and the  Weather Network's  Chris Mei to talk about his experiences in space as part of the Science Centre’s Great Conversations speaker series.   The evening attracted many children who came out with their parents to listen to the astronaut and get a selfie when his hour long talk was over. “ I think that it is a good thing to expose children to science and space travel is something that gets people really excited,” Dave Williams told the Caribbean Camera at the Thursday event.   “Understanding and teaching about the challenges of space inspire (young people) to have BIG dr...

Many have themes and some plan to travel Tribal 2018 Costume Launch Caribbean Camera By Stephen Weir: Used to be that when carnival ends in Toronto and the wrap-up band parties have been laid to rest, people move on to think about Parangs, Christmas and Hockey. Not so this year! Even though the 2019 parade is still nine months away, many of the Mas bands in the city have already announced their themes for next year’s parade and are holding events to showcase what’s in store for revelers! Judging by social media postings and one-on-one interviews, the first two bands to announce their themes for 2019 appear to have been Epic Carnival and Fantazia. Three other bands have revealed next year’s themes and the rest of the bands should be following suit soon.   “This year, EPIC Carnival is portraying the theme Persona. We want a unique theme that captures the energy, passion, imagination and culture of our masquerader,” Nadia Jethoo, the Epic Carnival Volunteer C...

“I have no interest in the how to do things but with the openness to pursuing how we build a beautiful rainbow. Art is really a way of thinking about freedom.”-Michael Fernandes NEWLY RELEASED BOOK ABOUT CANADIAN ARTISTS WRITES ABOUT TRINI HALIGONIAN MICHAEL FERNANDES BY KJ MULLINS AND STEPHEN WEIR Caribbean Camera Trinidad-born Canadian Michael Fernandes is a true free spirit who is in love with life. The 74-year old artist and educator lives to engage people into thinking in new ways! The life and times of the artist are part the new book At Home, which was released across Canada this week. Fernandes was born and raised in Trinidad but he now considers Canada home. It was 60-years ago that Fernandes dropped out of school and moved to Montreal. He admits that he was on a “path of no good” and was not shocked when his mother insisted that he get out of Trinidad and “find his way” in Canada. While he may have been “a wild child” it was clear that Michael was talente...

The Night The Great White Hope Lost It All By Stephen Weir - Caribbean Camera There is nothing noble about a fistfight. Blood. Flying Teeth. Broken Ribs. Brain Damage. A new all-Black (minus one) cast at Soulpepper Theatre says that sometimes fisticuffs can even tear a country apart.   Royale, running until November 11th recreates the Fight of the Century . This was a historic 1910 boxing match that brought US race relations to the canvas and made a black fighter King of the World. You probably know Marco Ramirez for the writing he does for TV more than for what he does for the stage. The American has penned for some big hits including Orange is the New Black, and the Marvel comic Netflix series, Daredevil. Ramirez is said to secretly love boxing because he sees it as “primal theatre”, two men stepping into the ring, and only one coming out with arms raised in victory. In his award winning play Royale, premiering at the Distillery District theatre, Ramirez has m...