Stephen Weir articles, editorials and popular social media weir postings

Never mind Crawfish and Carnival, love infused Jazz at the George with Louisiana’s red-hot singer, Quiana Lynell  by stephen weir Hectic just doesn’t cut it when describing jazz singer Quiana Lynell’s life these days. Two better words just might be airport and hotel! The red-hot jazz singing sensation from Louisiana is en-route to Toronto for her long delayed Canadian debut concert.  But in between leaving her home two days ago in the Deep South and experiencing her first Deep North winter next week, she has taken her quartet to Europe to perform. The vocalist extraordinaire is booked into the George Weston Recital Hall, next Saturday night (Feburary 15th) as part of the Jazz at the George concert series.  The George bills itself as Canada’s best recital hall and one of the world’s top venues; it is part of the Meridian Arts Centre complex on Yonge Street in North York. On Wednesday, the Caribbean Camera's Stephen Weir caught up with the winner of the highly i

Desmond Cole Howls About His New Blockbuster Book The Howl Radio Show scored a big media scoop when they had author Desmond Cole on air the night before the official launch of his guaranteed blockbuster book The Skin We're In.  University of Toronto's CIUT-FM 89.5 landed a 20-minute late night (10pm) live interview on Tuesday in advance of Cole’s large sold-out launch  booked for Wednesday evening at the downtown Art Gallery of Ontario. Howl is one of the longest running book radio show in the country (20+ years). Show host Jane Bullis, took Cole through his new work, a book which looks at racism in Canada in 2017 and, as he says, punctures the smugness of a post-racial nation. Cole chronicles  the year 2017 – Canada’s 150th birthday  -- and the month of January 2018. It’s all about the struggle against racism in this country. It was a year that he writes, saw calls for tighter borders when Black refugees braved frigid temperatures to cross into Manitoba from th

--> Big Things Happening In Toronto This February. A Torchy Jully Black - by Jones & Jones At a Harbourfront media event on Monday, a few audience members remarked that Black History Month (BHM) should be moved from February to March this year. Why?   BHM could use the extra two days   - there is just too much happening to see it all in just 29 days. The presser was billed as the TD Black History Month Series Launch and there was a stream of big names on and off the stage.   Hip-hop veteran Maestro Fresh Wes was the ringleader and introduced appearances from top Canadian talent including Jully Black, Tonya Williams and Exco Levi. The launch was part promotional for the city’s February events and the other half was discussion on living the Black experience in Canada.   TD Bank was front and centre on Monday because of their ten-year involvement in funding BHM events including the presser.   Jully Black & Exco Levy - by Jones & Jones There

Killer Book About Killer Bug In The Running For The RBC Taylor Prize Timothy Winegard by Herman Silochan This is the last year for the RBC Charles Taylor Prize. The non-fiction Canadian book prize is closing down in March after marking 20-years of rewarding the country’s best authors. The Prize recently announced the last five authors on the shortlist to win the Prize. One of their books, Timothy Winegard’s history of the Mosquito will have Caribbean readers itching to buy insect spray and install bug proof screens. The female mosquito has, through history, killed more people with her bite than all the wars in the history of man. In the Caribbean, where the fears of dengue, malaria, West Nile and sickle cell, grow, the mosquito is to blame. Dr. Winegard is a Sarnia born, hockey-loving historian who now teaches at the Colorado Mesa University. He has served in both the Canadian and British Armed Forces and knows about war. He says the world is losing the battle against

A Different Royalty wows people inside and outside A Different Booklist photo by A. Berot A Different Booklist held a different style book launch Monday night that literally had post rush hour Bathurst St motorists stopping in the road.  The bookstore and cultural centre was holding a sold-out signing and as a result a hundred people sat rigid in their chairs seemingly staring out at one of Toronto’s busiest streets. A Different Booklist doesn’t have curtains, and its windows run from sidewalk to ceiling.    So, when royalty arrives at the cultural centre, the audience ends up ghosting the cars, the streetcars and pedestrians where Bathurst and Bloor converge. People stopped and starred back! What they saw was two women sitting in front of a microphone with their back to the street.    The people sitting in the chairs didn’t care about what was going on outside, it was the speakers their eyes were fixed upon. Royalty indeed at come to Toronto’s multicultural bookstore (sp

St Lucia – a lesson in selling tourism to willing, winter-hating Canadians.   By Stephen Weir St Lucia, like many other Caribbean Island nations is deft at first breaking the spirit of winter-hating Canadians and then magically opening their wallets to spend, spend, spend.   The Caribbean Camera was at the swanky Hotel X at Toronto’s CNE grounds earlier this week and watched as the hex was put on willing travel agents, travel writers, airline reps and crazy jazz fiends! St Lucia does it just right. Their formula? Fill a room with beautiful people in an equally beautiful room. Turn up the temperature so that it feels almost tropical. Serve rum cocktails and cold cold green label beer. Then stand in front of a big ass TV screen showing gorgeous images of fun loving white millennials frolicking in a moon pool against a backdrop of the world famous twin Piton Peaks. Next, play some live funky music, give away a couple trips (no we didn’t win) and warn departing gues