Global InformationHistory of Caribana information
Now known as the Toronto Caribbean Carnival, Caribana began as a one-time celebration of the Canadian Centennial in Ontario's provincial capital city. The festival continues to bring a full display of Caribbean culture and traditions, attracting more than a million viewers[1] each year. Caribana has continued to draw people from across the world to Toronto, with travellers coming from places such as the Caribbean, Europe and the United States.[2]
Onlookers get to see a variety of colourful costumes as participants play mas in a variety of events such as The Grand Parade, Junior King & Queen Showcase, King & Queen Showcase, Junior Carnival Parade and more.[3] Spectators are exposed to a variety of Caribbean music and sounds such as soca, chutney soca, calypso, reggae and dancehall, r&b and hip hop along with sounds from instruments such as the steelpan. Festival attendees also get a chance to try a variety of Caribbean foods such as jerk chicken, roti, black pudding, rum cake, roasted fish and more.[4]
The festival takes place during late July to the first few days of August, coinciding with Emancipation Day and its commemoration of the abolition of slavery in British colonies in the nineteenth century. Caribana includes the tradition of “parading” through the streets, originating from celebrations of freedom from enslavement in the 19th century.[3]
Within the first five years, 1967 to 1971, the festival aimed to share West Indian (Black Canadian, Indo-Caribbean and Chinese-Caribbean) culture with the community at large, and to fund the creation of a permanent West Indian cultural centre. During the era, the festival took an early shape, different from recent celebrations, growing and gaining the support of the City and Toronto's Protestant Caucasian majority. The event attracted Caribbean country leaders and top musical and stage acts to supplement the parade. In late 1968, a new festival called Carnival Toronto was proposed; receiving government funding, Caribana resisted their merger attempts, which sought to combine several existing festivals into one event. The event was largely unsuccessful, ending after one year. Four largely peaceful years were marred in 1971 by a car accident causing parade route deaths, and public transit fumbles which led to fighting.
The festival has a long history since its beginnings in 1967, where multiple changes took place between the 1970s to the early 1990s. During this time, the Caribbean Cultural Committee and Caribana had undergone route changes, financial issues, an increase and decrease in spectators and participants, negative media attention, along with a rise in violence and an increasing police presence at various events within the festival.
The goal of establishing Caribana within the African Canadian/Caribbean community was to build it into "a cultural force that would support the community and enhance the wider city of Toronto.”[5]
News outlets such as The Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, and Caribbean-Canadian community newspapers such as Share and Caribbean Camera have played a crucial role in reporting information focused on the festival.
- ^ Preddie, Natalie (July 27, 2022). "Canada's Biggest Caribbean Festival is an Epic Show of Island Pride". The Washington Post.
- ^ Henry, Frances (1994). The Caribbean Diaspora in Toronto: Learning to Live with Racism. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 178. ISBN 9780802077424.
- ^ a b "HOME". TorontoCarnival. Retrieved 2023-03-12.
- ^ Henry, Natasha L. (2012). Talking about Freedom: Celebrating Emancipation Day in Canada. Toronto: Dundurn Press. p. 110. ISBN 9781459700482.
- ^ "HISTORY". TorontoCarnival. Retrieved 2023-03-12.