The Brandon Gonez Show touched road, singing loud and proud, joining thousands in celebration at Toronto’s Caribbean Carnival. (Courtesy: Toronto Carnival)
Toronto’s 59th annual Caribbean Carnival took place this weekend and the city was filled with celebrations of culture, vibrant colours and jumping up to soca music all-day long.
Thousands of people filled the streets on Saturday as masqueraders danced through the streets, representing Caribbean countries and independence.
Carnival is more than just a party, for many, it is a tradition of showing your pride of where you come from and uniting with other people and coming together as one as it coincides with Emancipation Day on August 1.
The celebration is also one of North America’s largest Caribbean festivals with many travelling from overseas to experience it.
The Brandon Gonez Show took to the road along with Hennessy and joined the festivities to party and wave our flags.
“This is a lifestyle, not a one time thing,” said a local who was playing mas at Toronto’s Caribbean Carnival.
Another Toronto local told The Brandon Gonez Show that she has played mas for 10 years and shared how great it felt to be back on road.
“It feels amazing. The sun is shining, I’m so excited,” she said.
The party did not stop after the grand parade, there were many other events held around the city throughout the weekend, one of the highly anticipated events is Deh’ya Fest which took place on Sunday.
Wi Deh’ya is a block party which explores Caribbean culture through the experience of second generation immigrants from the West Indies.
The event brings everyone together through music, dancing, fashion and art and even those who aren’t of the Caribbean diaspora are welcomed to join, to explore and experience the culture.
The event also became a space to highlight local DJ’s, helping give them a platform and exposure to new listeners.
There have been recent cancellations of street festivals like Afrofest and the inaugural Taste of Little Jamaica Festival, due to issues with permit delays, capacity and safety concerns, which comes as upsetting news as many attend these events for that sense of community and belonging.
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Deh’ya will also be taking place internationally, touching down in the United Kingdom at the end of August, and New York City in September. There will also be an event held in Montreal next month.
