Stephen Weir articles, editorials and popular social media weir postings

  Just in time for winter, new flights to Montego Bay New Airline, New Destination, New Price: Canada Jetlines Adds Montego Bay, Jamaica to Winter 2023-24 Schedule Canada Jetlines, Ltd., operating under the brand name Jetlines, has introduced Montego Bay, Jamaica, as one of its two new destinations for the upcoming winter season of 2023-24. "One-way tickets to Jamaica are priced as low as $299." Jetlines, a value-oriented leisure airline, is celebrating its first anniversary this week and continues to expand its reach with both scheduled and charter services throughout North America. In a recent announcement, the airline revealed its plans to broaden its network with new routes departing from Toronto to Montego Bay and Toronto to Orlando, beginning this fall. These new additions complement Jetlines' existing service to Cancun and Las Vegas. "We're thrilled to unveil our expanded winter flight schedule, offering travelers a wider array of options to escape the col...

Lakecia Benjamin'd Sax Schooling Toronto   Stand back. Don't sit down; Lakecia Benjamin will blow you out of your seat anyway. Jazz fans in the city have wanted to see and hear her since 2012 when she burst onto the world stage with her saxophone with the release of her first album, "Retox".  She has been in this country only a few times, playing backup alto sax for some of America's top performers, including Missy Elliott and Alicia Keys. But next Friday, she will take to the Meridian Arts Centre North stage, and it will be her music, her hip look, and her own band for the very first time on a Canadian stage. Although she wasn't sure which country the Caribbean Camera was calling from when we reached her at her home in NYC last week, she was excited to talk about her upcoming tour, which includes stops in Turkey, Germany, Norway, and this single Canadian performance, making for a busy fall schedule. She told us she was up for all the gigs that she will be pla...

  Soca. Calypso. Helping Children. Its Roy Cape, and he has the Jean Augustine Trophy to Prove it Two film festivals are taking place in Toronto simultaneously this week. Where do you think the paparazzi and cameras (except ours) were on this past Saturday night when celebrities like Sean Penn, Willem Dafoe, Spike Lee, Lil Nas X, Nickelback, and Viggo Mortensen were spotted on King Street? Well, most readers probably already know the answer. The world's attention was focused on Saturday night TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival). It's a shame because they missed the opportunity to cover a historic Caribbean evening at the CTFF (Caribbean Tales Film Festival) a few blocks away. Call it a Big People Party that combined a birthday fete for the famed retired Grenadian Canadian politician Jean Augustine, the showing of a Trinidadian documentary about saxophonist Roy Cape, an award presentation and a live wild performance by Ozzie Gurley which ended with two of his brass sectio...

A Gateway to Success The Toronto Business Summit 2023 is just around the corner, set to take place on September 16 at the University of Toronto Scarborough's Highland Hall. With a promise to immerse attendees in a whirlwind of innovation, growth strategies, and industry trends, this year's summit is poised to be a game-changer for business enthusiasts. The event boasts a stellar lineup of expert speakers, including Catherine Chandler-Crichlow, Ph.D., the Dean at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies, and Michael Dutra, CEO of the estate planning and insurance company bearing his name. These industry titans, along with other luminaries like Lee Soda, Executive Director of Agincourt Community Services Association, Sam Ibrahim, President of Arrow Group of Companies, and Jonathon Brown, Chief Growth Officer of Trend Hunter, are set to unravel the hidden secrets of success and unveil the latest industry breakthroughs. One of the standout features of this summit is ...

DON’T BE GLUM THE CTFF IS ENDING ON A BLUE NOTE  This Sunday night’s audience that catches the documentary, "Behind the Blue," as it closes out the annual Caribbean Tales Film Festival should yell out "Encore." Hopefully, director Kenderson Noray will hear the call and give it another Toronto run (around 2024 Carnival time, please).   Behind the Blue  is the history of the Paramin Blue Devil. It is a film all about the Blue Devil bands who continue to tell their stories of triumphs and failures while scaring the living daylights out of those not in the know.  Both in Trinidad and Toronto, the Blue Devil has taken part in the Jab Jab J’ouvert. But here in Toronto, their role has diminished at the annual carnival, and many don't understand why they dance and preenion the parade blue route.   “The Blue Devil in competition always appears as a pair - The King Devil and the minion who restrains the devil from the world,” Noray told the media before a screen...

  Patrice - the art of the blur HEADS WE WIN, TAILS NYC LOSES AS FANS MIND THEIR BUSINESS LOUDLY Patrice on stage Patrice Roberts had to make a tough choice last Thursday: Should she come to Toronto and perform outdoors at the CNE Bandshell, or should she fly to New York City to attend the inaugural Caribbean Music Awards? Patrice chose Toronto, and the city is delighted that she did! Thursday marked Soca Night at the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), where the Trinidad and Tobago singer headlined a special Soca concert at the Bandshell. It was an evening dedicated to celebrating the art form and marking Trinidad's 61st birthday. As for the Caribbean Music Awards, their loss was Toronto's gain. While Patrice was on stage performing for an estimated 6,000 people, she was named the Female Artist of the Year, and her music video "Mind My Business" won the SOCA Video of the Year Award. The skimpy chic leather-clad singer never stopped singing, and neither did the audien...

Canada's most prestigous fiction prizes now  has a 12-book longlist. Dionne Irving Wednesday  morning, the 2023 Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist was announced. This year’s 12-book list is an exceptional compilation of books from an extraordinary range of writers, celebrating not only the strength and diversity of writing in Canada but also marking the 30th anniversary of the Prize. The longlist was announced this morning at The Rooms in St. John’s, Newfoundland, by the 2022 Scotiabank Giller Prize winner, Suzette Mayr (Sleeping Car Porter). Of note among the dozen books on the list is Dionne Irving’s short story collection, "The Islands: Stories." The Toronto-born author and educator, now living in the US, has penned powerful stories that explore the legacy of colonialism, and issues of race, immigration, sexual discrimination, and class in the lives of Jamaican women across London, Panama, France, Jamaica, Florida, and more. Set in locations and times ranging from 1950s...

CTFF CONTINUES THIS EVENING WITH A RAP STAR AND A PUERTO RICO SEA GODDESS Garcia shoots Daughter of the Sea The party started last night with the opening night of Caribbean movies and happy fans. The 18th annual Caribbean Tales Film Festival kicked off its 16 day run at the Harbourfront Centre. If you are reading this and it is Thursday, put down the paper and order tickets for tonight now because CTFF’s Day 2 might be a sell-out. It happens this evening at 7 pm back at Harbourfront. Tonight’s theme is "Standout Shorts," featuring eight short films that explore various aspects of Caribbean culture, from a movie about a Caribbean Sea Goddess to a Black British, Black and White Duppy. Director/Writer Alexia Garcia right The Caribbean Camera's top pick of the night is "Daughter of the Sea," a Puerto Rican colour film. After the death of her grandfather, a young woman experiences a spiritual awakening when she is called by Yemaya, the orisha Goddess of the Sea. The ...

Baby Bonus Bought the Beer . Canadian Pension Keepin ’ the Windsor Suds Flowing      "OMG, or however the young people say it these days, time is running out on me. I have got two weeks to figure out what I should wear to the first day of Frosh Week at Windsor U this semester. As an aging part-time student, I feel a real Day One need to blend in with my new classmates, even though most will be 50 years my juniors.     Even though I'm most likely the oldest part-timer here, I am not the only boomer looking in the closet this week for suitable chillin ’ clothes. At Windsor, retirees coming back to school is gaining traction.     I came back three years back, but because of Covid, all of my classes in the first two years, were online, and all my classmates were simply icons on the screen (I was a cartoon of Mick Jagger). Last September 2020, was the first time I stepped inside a Windsor University classroom since the early 70s.     "Will I be able to find my ...