TORONTO – After two years of COVID-19, Toronto’s Caribbean Carnival is back and the community is pumped! Our team headed down to the media launch of the carnival at Hotel X to speak to the organizers, city officials, and participants of this year’s event to find out what we can look forward to at the end of July!
“We’re doing things a little bit differently, we’re partnering with Hotel X, as you can see we’re here today, and we’re going to be producing a Grande Parade Central,” explained Laverne Garcia, Chair of the Festival Management Committee.
“On the day of the parade there is going to be a lot of activations, there are going to be three stages, there is going to be a kid zone, there is going to be a lot of things to look forward to inside the Ex. And if people don’t want to come inside the Ex, they can still enjoy it along Lakeshore as they always have,” Garcia continued.
When asked if she has received positive feedback from the community about the announcement of the return of the Toronto Caribbean Carnival, Garcia said that not only is the Caribbean community excited, all of Toronto is pumped.
“In Trinidad, they say ‘Tabanka’. Like, you really miss something. So even when Carnival is just over they say ‘Oh I have Tabanka for carnival’ for next year,” Garcia explained, adding that after two years of COVID, everyone has Tabanka for carnival.
There is a lot to check out this coming Carnival season, and Garcia says that if you have to pick just one event to see, the King and Queen show is the one to watch.
Deputy Mayor Michael Thompson is also excited for the return of Caribana!
“I look forward to visiting the Mas Camps, seeing the culture, seeing the display, seeing the creativity, seeing the people working together,” said Thompson.
“And the comradery that you find in the camps, it’s extraordinary! I think if we could bottle that and bring that out into everyday living that we do in the Caribbean community, we would be so much better off in terms of our economic impact and our desire to succeed,” Thompson added.
Producer Dev spoke with several other people excited to celebrate this summer, including Festival Manager Mischka Crichton and long-time Caribana goer and this year’s Face of the Festival Celena Seusahai on this episode of News You Can Use!
