Stephen Weir articles, editorials and popular social media weir postings

Family and Friends of Charley Roach hold up the Charley Roach Lane sign   Massive turnout for unveiling of Charley Roach Lane  By Stephen Weir, Caribbean Camera The City held an early evening traffic stopping celebration in the memory of the late community activist Charley Roach on Wednesday, July 18th. Over 400 people jammed a small laneway stopping traffic on Rushton Road and briefly on St Clair Avenue West, to take part in the unveiling of the newly renamed Charley Roach Lane! Charley Roach was born on September 18, 1933, in the community of Belmont in Trinidad and Tobago. He and his first wife Hetty, immigrated to Canada in 1955 and eventually in Ontario where he studied law at the University of Toronto. Councillor Joe and Sunset take cover off sign As a newly minted human rights lawyer, he quickly became a leader in Toronto's growing black community. He defended the rights of Caribbean nannies, challenged racial profiling, d

Bacchanal in d’ Centennial Park uses all the Caribbean Arts to tell Carnival story By Stephen Weir - Caribbean Camera Do you have 45-minutes to give your all to the traditions of Carnival? This Sunday afternoon 45 actors, stick fighters, stilt walkers and Calypso stars will come Dingolay in the Centennial Park and the whole city is invited watch. At 3pm Ol' Time Carnival, Bacchanal in d' Plantation Yard! takes over the northwest corner of the park located at Markham and Ellesmere Ave in Scarborough. This is a free, rain or shine event that organizers describe as “being very family friendly!” “ Ol’ Time Carnival came about after I met a young woman who told me she was going to be playing Mas in the Toronto’s Carnival Parade. I asked her if she knew why we play Mas. She said she didn’t know, which made me mad,” show co-producer and writer Jacky Forde told the Caribbean Camera in a late night mas camp interview earlier this week. “But then we (pointing at her husband Clar

JAMBANA One World Festival is moving to two indoor Brampton venues Denise Jones Jambana, the annual August long-weekend Reggae and Roots festival, has loaded up the truck and is moving from the Markham Fairgrounds to two venues in Brampton.   For its 10 th anniversary, the August 5th & 6th   outdoor festival has not only moved cities but is also heading indoors! “ It is a big step for us to move Jambana from a big field (the Markham Fairgrounds) to fully serviced indoor halls,” Denise Jones, Executive Producer of JAMBANA One World Festival told the Caribbean Camera in an interview last week.   “ There are some huge pluses to this. We are moving to a city where we have produced a number of very successful Reggae events. Brampton has a real hunger for Jambana, and now that we are heading indoors, there is no need for people to drag along their lawn chairs and umbrellas to the see the shows.” Launched in 2008 Jambana, One World Festival is the GTA’s pre

Best all Trini movie you will never see in a Canadian theatre By Stephen Weir for Caribbean Camera Chances are if you went to school in Trinidad you have read and studied Michael Anthony’s  Green Days By The River . If you haven’t read the classic Trinidadian novel there is a new made-in-T&T movie that faithfully tells the story of coming of age for a poor young man in the  coastal village of Mayaro  in 1952. The book, first published in 1967, is considered one of Trinidad’s most important post colonial novels and Michael Anthony one of the most important living authors (he is listed as one of the 50 most  influential people in Trinidad and Tobago ).    Now his masterpiece is a movie, and late last week, film junkies got to see the feature film for maybe the first and last time in Canada at a media screening in Toronto. Michael Mooledhar, a Trinidadian born film maker put together a 100% T&T cast and crew to make Green Days By the River into a lush full length fi

Three Short Arts Items That Didn't Make It Into This Week's Caribbean Camera, But are worthy of your attention (I hope) · Calypso Mucho is a modern-day acoustic big-band revue show featuring local performers of West Indian origin, hearkening back to the 20th-century Calypso tent tradition in Trinidad. Calypso Mucho is anchored by SHAK SHAK featuring frontman Roger Gibbs and led by Dr. Chris Wilson, along with special guests Panman Pat, Monty Hama, Susan G, and Garth Blackman.  Also featured is dance and rhythm troupe John Orpheus Wednesday, August 1 8pm Lula Lounge, 1585 Dundas St. West · The Toronto Book Awards has released its long list for books in the running for the 2018 $15,000 award. On that longlist is Trinidadian Canadian David Chariandy for his book Brother. The book, which has already won the Writer’s Trust Prize, is a novel about growing up in a poor in Scarborough. The winner of the 2018 Toronto Book Awards will be announced on October 10 at the To

By  Stephen Weir Photographs by Don Moreland (Carnival North) Meet the junior sized King and Queen of this year’s Toronto Caribbean Carnival.   Lift up a glass of soda and salute Caneisha Edwards and Evan Murphy - For the next three weeks they are the toast of the town! The second annual Toronto Caribbean Carnival’s Junior King and Queen Showcase was held outdoors on Sunday afternoon at the Woodbine Mall. Under a cloudless skies and blazing hot temperatures, children in elaborate mas costumes competed for the titles of Junior King and Queen. The Mall, located at Rexdale Blvd and Highway 27, erected a large stage and bleachers in its parking lot. The afternoon competition for the young revelers, mirrors the annual adult King and Queen Showcase held outdoors at Lamport Stadium during the final week of carnival. “ The Kings, the Queens, and individuals of the Carnival bands unveil their elaborately themed costumes highlighting the creative minds and imagina