Stephen Weir articles, editorials and popular social media weir postings

  Kiddies And Parents Will be Jumping Up At  Two Coming Costume Launches.    Forgot how busy summer is in the city of Toronto?  The weekly Caribbean Camera carnival list begins here.   With the Covid Pandemic apparently in retreat, Carnival event planners have quickly booked event halls, outdoor concert venues and even amusement parks for every weekend of the spring and summer all beginning this weekend.   Over the next three months the Caribbean Camera will keep readers in the loop and up-to-date. Of special note this week is for the kids.   Junior Revellers’ Band Launch Takes Off On Saturday NBA great Jamaal Magloire’s Revellers’  costume launch for adults brought in near record numbers last month. This weekend will they repeat those monster number with the children’s version of their Bon Voyage  Costume Launch?   Every summer, Covid willing, the Toronto Caribbean Carnival stages a Junior Carnival Parade in Toronto’...

D’New Regulars will be Off-Duty Next Sunday Night By Stephen Weir    When it comes to Carnival Canada’s longest serving Mas Man, Michael Williams ( pictured below ) he is never off duty, except next Sunday. He started the D’Regulars in 1973 and now 49-years later with a slightly different name, he will be presenting a costume launch for this year’s Mas Band. Canada’s Armed Forces generals are not probably going to like what William’s troop of models are going to be wearing on stage at the Spade Bar & Lounge. But given that the D New Regulars theme is “Off Duty”, enlisted or not, Soca party people will want to jump up and jump in.   “We have five sections of which four of them tie right into military uniforms,” explained Williams. Two sections have naval themed mas costumes (think male and female white navy uniform tops and of course skimpy bottoms)and two sections based on camo army fatigues.   “I designed all of the costumes and for the fifth section I looked ba...

Scarborough’s Shawn Allen Keeps On Keeping On! Takes Another National Mortgage Awards By Stephen Weir for the Caribbean Camera (above) The Oscars (without the slap) for the stars of the country’s mortgage business was held in Toronto last Thursday at the Canadian Mortgage Awards (CMA) banquet. And the winner was?  Guyanese  Canadian moneyman Shawn Allen. Allen, the founder of the  Matrix Mortgage Global, was presented with the CMA Prize for Broker of the Year - Private Lending.  This award recognizes the country’s top mortgage broker who specializes in private lending and has built a solid business over the past year. Toronto based Shawn Allen was one of a number of mortgage brokers and independent brokerages that were honoured in 22 different categories. The awards range from Brokerage of the Year to the  Award for Woman of Distinction The prestigious awards evening is staged  by the Coalition of Independent Mortgage Brokers of Canada (CIMBC). This as...

  2022 Saldenah Carnival Costume Launch By Stephen Weir   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).” Louis’s Saldenah Carnival (formally the Mas K Club) holds the record of twenty “Band of the Year” titles for the annual Caribbean Carnival parade. Not only does his band win prizes for the looks of their masquerade...

The Energy in the Hall on Saturday Night?  It was E.P.I.C By Stephen Weir The E.P.I.C. Carnival Mas Band lived up to the meaning of its name – Energy. Passion. Imagination. Culture – and then some. After the two year lay-off staging a costume launch (because of Covid) came out of the gate just smoking! The Saturday night’s Costume Launch at Scarborough’s Grand Cinnamon Convention Hall was a passionate preview of what they are going to bring to the street at the Toronto Caribbean Carnival in 2022.  According to our photographer Herman Silochan there over 1,000 people at the launch to see the costumes of a dozen sections over the course of the midnight show.  The theme this year?  Energy of course. And lots of it. With section names like Pulse, Shockwave and Animale it is only natural that their costumes work the Energy theme. Lots of electric blue and fire red are worked into the costumes’ colour scheme, and like the other Bands that have launched before sk...

A Visit to a Toronto book launch University of Windsor course assignment by Stephen Weir   Little known group of Filipino Canadian poets use post Covid shutdown launch techniques to introduce their new anthology to Canadians.    If I were able to take the way-back machine to 2019 to meet with an about-to-drop-a-new-book  author,  the time would be spent strategizing about the  coming  launch. You know, the literary version of the champagne magnum smash ed  across the bow of a mega-million  ocean liner .    We work for days on corralling all the famous people you can muster on the guest list, (maybe Peggie will agree to do a once-around before slipping out the side door), gin up  Tyrone Edwards’  CTV E-talk bookers to come shoot a live hit at the launch party and of course strong-arm Shelagh into being our MC. And if it is an election time, we will moil and toil to get Justin to do a live Zoom love and kisses from a screen ...

Linked Stories From Nassau.  People Just Don’t Understand By Stephen Weir Wow – the young-uns knew a long time ago what an incredible story-teller Bahamian Canadian author  Janice Lynn Mather is. And now it is the adults turn to discover this  Governor General's Literary Finalists with this week's release of her new book Uncertain Kin .   The Vancouver based writer first made a name for herself here in Canada with her first two books, Learning to Breathe and Facing the Sun. Not only did the Young Adult titles make a splash with junior high schoolers they won awards and were nominated for some biggies too. S he has just returned to the bookstore shelves with her first adult work of fiction.   Uncertain Kin   is a collection of linked   stories about the lives of women and girls living in The Bahamas and Canada. Eighteen strange haunting stories introduce us to women and girls searching for identity and belonging during moments of profound upheaval. “I...

  No Telling What Will Pop Up By Stephen Weir Photographs by Gilbert Medina   If today is Thursday and you are reading this before 9.30 pm you can totally get outfitted for the Grand Parade at a special registration Pop Up in Scarborough. Coming off a successful Costume Launch in Vaughan, the Carnival Nationz Mas Band has put together a temporary showroom in Scarborough where revelers can get up close and personal and with a roomful of very sexy costume and place orders before the Carnival frenzy begins.   Actually, at least according to Carnival Nationz’ Bryce Aguiton, the madness has already begun. “We had our Saturday night launch on the Easter weekend and the response has been amazing. The calls haven’t stopped. We thought that before we open our permanent Mas Camp we should hold a 3-Day Pop Up in Scarborough to take the pressure off the nonstop calls.”   It started Tuesday evening at the Cinnamon Ru Commercial Plaza on McNicoll Avenue. Running 6.30 to 9.30 all t...

 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 ...

Brampton Debut for the Freedom Mas Band of the Toronto Carnival By Stephen Weir. Pictures by Des Photography   This early bird didn’t get any worms, Johanna Grant, got something significantly tastier.  By holding her new Freedom Mas Band costume launch on Sunday she won bragging rights to having thrown the first Band launch of Carnival 2022. She is also the first to open the doors to their camp and begin the business of making masquerade outfits. She set a couple of other milestones this weekend. Her new band is the only group that is now based in the city of Brampton. They will be proudly waving the Black, Green and Gold along Lakeshore Blvd in Toronto’s Grand Parade on July 30 th .  “After a 16 years hiatus, the Jamaican Band is       back, fully equipped with costumes to give    revellers the full   carnival experience ,” said Johanna Grant shortly after her day long fete ended. “We are excited to bring back the Jamaican culture to th...