Stephen Weir articles, editorials and popular social media weir postings

Champion drops and the world listens.  By Stephen Weir It was the wind that brought Reggae singer Exco Levi a powerful message crying out to be made into a song. Two and half years later that message finally dropped, Champion has arrived! Five-time Juno award winner and long-time Canadian reggae star Exco Levi released his new single Champion to a global audience last Friday, and this song of hope already has begun to find a following. “ You know I let my songs come to me. Sometimes it takes a little time, but, with what is going on in the world right now it has been worth the wait,” Levi told the Caribbean Camera yesterday. “ I sing about Drizzy and Usain Bolt, and others, but they are just a fraction of the vast glorious people who are all around us.  When I sing about being a champion, it is not just about sports or music. You can be a Champion in anything you do.  I say be a champion for Faith.” Levi sees his song as a siren call to the global village for victory, i

CaribbeanTales is all set to put on the Big Show, but Virus Shutdown waits in the wings. The CaribbeanTales Film Festival (CTFF) has an amazing plan for 2020; quality Trinidadian, Caribbean and world movies, a gala launch, and an outreach festival in England. “Now,” says Dianne Webley the newly promoted director of the Festival, "if the virus shutdown soon has an end, we can tell Toronto when this is all going to take place.” Earlier this week, Frances Anne Solomon, the founder of the annual festival announced that Webley has taken over the day-to-day operation of the 15th annual fall classic. She also announced that three new people have joined the CTFF board. “A long-time member of the CaribbeanTales family, Diana Webley has been working at Harbourfront Centre for 15-years,” said Solomon. “For the past two years she has also served as the Associate Festival Director for CTFF.” “What has happened is that Frances Anne (Solomon) has been deeply involved with her own feature

What will happen to Caribbean Carnival '20? By Stephen Weir The Caribbean Camera has learned that the Festival Management Committee (FMC) which runs the annual Toronto Caribbean Carnival will meet later this week to decide what is going to happen to this year’s annual July festival and their signature August 1 Grand Parade. With the announcement on Tuesday that the City of Toronto is cancelling all major events until June 30 (and leaving the door open to closing all further summer events) because of the virus pandemic, carnival stakeholders must decide if they are going to proceed with the parade, moving it to a later date in the year or simply postponing it until next year. For the FMC, the timing for its 2020 Toronto Caribbean Carnival, is now a big crapshoot. If the festival is to proceed with its mid-July kick-off, the mas’ bands have to begin opening their mas camps, holding band launches, building costumes and renting trucks for the parade. If the City ends up ex

How Are The Royals Doing During This Virus Shutdown? By Stephen Weir No, we don’t mean Prince Charles (but we do wish him a speedy recovery) we are talk about the Kings and Queens of the Caribbean.  For the past few days we have been texting and checking the Facebook and Instagram accounts of people who have name recommendation with Caribbean Camera readers! After communicating with more than 20 people who are currently in solitary confinement, we can tell you, that most of our Royals are just like us.  Busy on social media. Eating too much.  Exercising too little. Jai Ojah (l) – King of Caribbean Radio - just at home de cluttering painting and walking playing my records at night. Basically my keeping in touch with friends and family. Enjoying my record collection on my turntable. Destra, Queen of Bacchanal (r)  – On Facebook, the famous Trinidadian Soca singer posted a 1970s era British comedy TV skit of a spinster who accidently sprays Crazy Glue on her crotch, soon her spi

Carnival Mas or Corona Mess?  Not a Lot of Answers in this Time of Crisis By Stephen Weir Breaking News: I received a note from the SunLime Mas Band l this evening announcing that they have postponed their previously announced March 29th virtual launch "to a later date. We will keep you updated as time goes on". We have also received a notice from the Toronto Revellers that their Saturday April 11th costume launch is being postponed until May. " Due to the current global crisis, we are postponing our band launch to a date in May (TBD)." The picture above is from the SunLime's model shoot which was held two weeks ago. Although the SunLime band has embargoed pictures and videos from that costume photo shoot, I did get permission to use this photograph (again) with the model blurred to obscure the costume. What the Mas Camps, Pan Bands and the Festival Management Committee need right now is the city’s biggest Crystal Ball. Something that will ans

  Twenty Books to read the coronavirus quarantine Now here is some bad news.  Yesterday the Downtown Toronto’s The Different Booklist and Cultural Centre announced that it is closed because of the CoronaVirus Pandemic. Just prior the store shutting its doors, the Caribbean Camera spoke to Itah Sadu, co-owner of the Bathurst Street operation. She and her partner Miguel San Vincente are concerned about the “safety of our staff and customers”, thus yesterday’s closure. Now for the good news: Although customers can’t, at least for now, visit the city’s only bookstore for Caribbean, African and Diversity titles, The Different Booklist is operating online.  To encourage online shopping, the company is offering free shipping on all orders. https://www.adifferentbooklist.com/ With this raging coronavirus outbreak you and your children may suddenly find yourself staying home with a lot of time on your hands. Nothing makes staying at home more enjoyable than reading a book or two a

 Simone Dalton captures a top writing award Writer and Pan Player Simone Dalton is keeping a Trinidadian Canadian tradition alive.  The young writer has just won the 2020 RBC Taylor Prize Emerging Author Award making her the 5th Trinidadian Canadian to win a major Canadian writing prize in the past decade. Simone Dalton is a long-time tenor pan player with Toronto Panatics and an author that one magazine declared is one of “20 Black Writers to Read All Year Round!”. Dalton earned an MFA from the University of Guelph. Her work has been published in The Unpublished City: Volume I, and in the anthology, Black Writers Matter. In 2019, her inaugural short play, VOWS, debuted at Soulpepper as part of RARE Theatre’s production, Welcome to My Underworld. She is now working on her first memoir and is currently living in Boston. Dalton won the Award yesterday, thanks to another writer, Ottawa historian Mark Bourrie.  Early this month he won the 2020 RBC Taylor Prize for his book Bus