Stephen Weir articles, editorials and popular social media weir postings

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 the Toronto Carnival formally known as Caribana!” “

  Watering the Seeds for the Future of Bathurst St Community   IT was a press conference and update about A Different Booklist Cultural Centre (ADBCC)and its masterplan to get bigger, louder and wear a new name.  At a Friday presser held at the bookstore at Bathurst and Bloor in downtown Toronto, organizer and store owner Itah Sadu threatened to shout down the city with her good words of emancipation and neighbourhood   The Cultural Centre is a non-profit community group committed to studying and promoting the history of African and Caribbean Canadian ancestry. It will build a large multi-purpose permanent headquarters in the large construction site known as the Mirvish Village project recently demolished Honest Ed’s  department story. The construction sight is right across the street from the existing bookstore and cultural meeting hall.   At the noon-hour presser was Anthony Joseph, the publisher of th Caribbean Camera along with other members of the press, politicians, the public  a

The Slap Heard Around The World SWEIR talks to Canadian Comedians about it  You Tube got it right. Only hours after Sunday night’s Oscars Award Ceremony ended the short message and video issued about Will Smith and Chris Rock’s Brouhaha was tagged as The Slap Heard Around World and it had done just that. Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars after he had joked about Smith's wife, Jada-Pinkett Smith and her lack of hair. Four days have since passed and the story just hasn’t gone hasn’t away. Smith is getting applause mostly from Americans men for lightly slapping Fox for making fun of Jada’s hair loss issues with Alopecia. But more are praising Chris Rock for taking it like a man, because he made the wise crack as part of the jokes that the Oscar organizers had paid him to drop on the global audience taking in the Battle Royale. So how did Canadians react to the Slap Around the World? Drake was apparently in a Hollywood nightclub and one of his crew posted

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 better.  By holding her new Freedom Mas Band costume launch on Sunday she won bragging rights to being the first Band to hold a launch for Carnival 2022 and also the first band to open their Mas Camp doors and start making masquerade outfits. She set a couple of other milestones on the weekend. Her new band is the only group that will be based in the city of Brampton, and proudly waving the Black, Green and Gold down Lakeshore Blvd in Toronto's Grand Parade on Saturday 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 the day long fete ended. “   We are excited to bring back the Jamaican culture to the Toronto Carnival formally known as Caribana!” “Honest, one of the r

    MY CHEAP ATTIC OFFICE ROOM FRIGHTENS LOTS OF PEOPLE   By Stephen Weir OMG. No, Double OMG. If the city inspectors sees this, I’ll be tossed into a snowbank, while they weld my alley door shut for the safety of the city. What am I doing here? Stephen, the landlord had a list (72 pt bold) of the renting features of this attic bedroom cum office. “ Number One!  ” it yelled at me. “It is a Gawd Damn Cheap.  Number Two No Rats …  not on the third floor at least).  Number Three. No toilet  .  You use the landlord’s  downstairs …. and he promises to make sure it is kept clean … most of the time.  Number Four.  It is the cheapest rent you will get at Young and Egg.” Young and Egg?  What do I know? I thought I’d just moved into a third-floor office walkup at Yonge Street and Eglinton Ave. “Oh, what a unique space. Love It.” Truth was I didn’t bring a bed to my new city digs, and the space was too narrow anyway.  And, as I remembered, it was really cheap!   Landlord Stephen   (LLS) lay down

  TRAYVON MARTIN STORY ALIVE AFTER 10 YEARS Makambe K Simamba By Stephen Weir  When the 70-minute live play  “Our Fathers, Sons, Lovers and Little Brothers”  ends we in the audience are invited to stick around and talk about the 2012 murder of  Trayvon Martin .  We think about staying and apologizing for the racist murder of a 17-year-old youth but opt to go to our and cry alone.    The Caribbean Canadian couple beside us want to get home quick and hug their children tight. Real tight.    The midtown Tarragon Theatre is finally back open after taking a couple year Covid break. Actress and playwright  Makambe K Simamba is first out of the blocks at the Casa Loma neighbourhood theatre. She is presenting her one-person show “Our Fathers, Sons, Lovers and Little Brothers,”  runs until April 20 th .   In “ Our Fathers, Sons, Lovers and Little Brothers” , Simamba plays Slimm (Trayvon Martin), who is murdered and suddenly finds himself up in the afterlife. It is based on the real-life murder

  Thousands of children making a Mas at the T&T Sheppard Avenue West consulate   Toronto photographer and filmmaker  Jenny Baboolal  has just finished installing a photography exhibition at  The Consulate General of Trinidad and Tobago in Toronto  that will put a little bit of Carnival warmth into this cold Canadian winter.    The  photographic exhibit called The Art of Mas”, opened yesterday at the Sheppard Ave W Consulate, and is available for viewing online. It is also in-person, on a limited basis, to those with appointments to access services in the building.   The photo show which runs until August 31st is all about Carnival in T&T, and specifically children’s participation in the annual event.    Baboolal has selected over 30 framed pieces   which  document thousands of children’s emotional engagement with the annua festival and documents the wide range of the junior costumes used in the Children’s Carnival.   Jenny Baboolal was born in Trinidad and is an entrepreneur, a