The inaugural Caribana was a one-time celebration of Caribbean culture and traditions, gifted by the city’s West Indian community in tribute to the Canadian Centennial in 1967. It emerged shortly after the introduction of changes to Canadian immigration policy, which helped to eliminate overt racial discrimination, encouraging many Caribbean residents to emigrate to Canada. The event was influenced by the already existing Calypso Carnival organized by the Canadian Negro Women’s Organization and the tradition of Emancipation Day parades held by Black Canadians.
The first Caribana was organized by a group of activists from Toronto’s West Indian community who formed the Caribbean Centennial Committee. Once the Centennial celebrations were over, they assessed the success of the Caribana, decided it should be an annual celebration, and transformed the group into the Caribbean Committee for Cultural Advancement, later incorporated as the Caribbean Cultural Committee. Caribana was one of the first Caribbean Carnivals to take place outside of the Caribbean region, along with those in Boston, New York, and Notting Hill.
Due to a legal dispute regarding the ownership of the trademark “Caribana”, the festival was renamed the Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival in 2011 and the Toronto Caribbean Carnival in 2015, when Scotiabank ended its sponsorship of the Carnival.
The Toronto Caribbean Carnival launches in early July, but the majority of visitors come to Toronto during the actual Carnival weekend in early August. The main events of the Toronto Caribbean Carnival are the Carnival King and Queen Showcase, the Calypso Monarch competition, J’ouvert, and of course the Grand Parade. J’ouvert is a small pre-dawn parade that kicks off the Carnival weekend; it usually features steel bands and body painting.
The culmination of the Carnival and its most popular event is the Grand Parade, which usually takes place during the Civic Holiday weekend and attracts over a million spectators. The parade features bands of costumed dancers and musicians who entertain the crowd to the sounds of soca, calypso, dancehall, raggae, and chutney music. Each band has unique and elaborate costumes, and most creative and energetic bands are awarded with special prizes once the parade is over.
In addition to the main events, the program of the Toronto Caribbean Carnival includes the Junior Carnival Parade, the Junior King and Queen Showcase, outdoor parties called fêtes, pool parties, steel band parties, jump-ups (dances), picnics showcasing Caribbean cuisine (rotis, jerk chicken, Jamaican festival, callaloo, potato pudding, goat head soup, fried fish, rum cakes, pelau, etc.), calypso tents and talk tents (live shows featuring musicians, comedians and storytellers), the Carnival Ball (Gala), and more.
Photo: Chris Cheung
