Last weekend we had the opportunity to attend our very first “band launch” and it turned out to be a spectacular event, put on by the Toronto Revellers Mas Band. Basically a ‘mas band” is an organized group of masqueraders who take part in a street carnival of some sort, in extravagant costumes skilfully created by designers from the ‘band”. For the band launch itself, think – runway fashion show with the latest designs in costume for the season.
According to wikipedia…
Caribana is a festival of Caribbean culture and traditions held each summer in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Annually, Caribana draws hundreds of thousands of tourists from around the globe to Toronto’s lakeshore. Caribana is a Caribbean Carnival event, that has been billed as North America’s largest street festival, frequented by over 1.3 million visitors each year for the festival’s final parade.
As you arrived at the event, you were greeted by friendly security who guided you through the doors of a massive tent with the wonderful sound of soca in the back ground. We were a bit early and though they were still going through last minutes preparations, there was a wonderful vibe in the air. To the left as you walked in was the bar and food station, directly in front was a massive stage and the far right was the dj who was responsible for that “vibe” I mentioned earlier. This was carded as an outdoor event and if you know anything about Canada in the Spring.. it’s cold. The question on our mind on the drive to the event was, “how will they pull this off being so cold?”
The massive tent was either heated or with the overall excitement and later the crowd, we were quite comfortable. This temporary venue felt very intimate, but roomy at the same time. Carded to start at 11.30 pm I believe, it was a much later when the hosts for the night finally got things going. If you arrived early as we did, you lucked out with some prime seating adjacent to the stage, with the best vantage point of the night. As I looked around as the show got started I soon realize that a huge crowd had gathered this night, all with with a clear sign of anticipation on their minds.
There was a very coordinated flow to the show and with the arrival of each section on stage, mixed in with the music supplied by the dj.. this event was now rocking. Still boggles my mind as to how these models in their costume and high heels navigated what seemed like a slippery surface on the runway. All to the beat of a themed song for their presentation. We had gone through all the sections… Courage, Lullaby, Heartless, Dorothy, Emerald City, Wizards Fury, Glinda & Lollipop Guild, Over the Rainbow, Ruby, Scarecrow, Weathering the Storm, Wicked & Winkie Guard, Witch of the East & Fly and Yellow Brick Road and were left wanting more. The crowd was captivated by some amazing design work, which kept to the overall theme for the most part. OZ was interpreted and created by the designers in such a way that even as a novice I could understand the logic behind the designs and what they were trying to portray.
After the show which lasted about 40 minutes, we had the opportunity to see all the costumes on the models even more upclose as they mingled with us during the after party and even took time to take pictures with you, if you so desired. By this time the volume of the music was turned up, people were dancing and having a good time, but I was on the hunt for a plate of that food which caught the attention of my senses earlier. At $5 a plate, you could not go wrong with a wonderful mix (sort of combo plate) of West Indian style Chinese food.
It was close to 2 am when we forced ourselves to leave. The party was at it’s peak at this point and we were engulfed in “vibe” which by now had reached critical levels, but we had a long drive home.
Caribana happens every year during the Civic Holiday weekend in Ontario, Canada. The official parade date for 2011 is Saturday July 30th on Lakeshore Blvd. in Toronto. Future dates are: 2012 – Saturday August 4 | 2013 – Saturday August 3 | 2014 – Saturday August 2 | 2015 – Saturday August 1
To learn more about Toronto Revellers or to be part of their mas presentation for Caribana 2011, you can visit their “mas Camp” at
2135 Sheppard Avenue E.
North York (Toronto), ON M2J 1W6
@ Consumers Road (Between Victoria Park and DVP)
From what we saw and experienced this night, I can only praise the Toronto Revellers group for a job well done. Your professionalism was apparent in the way you produced such a vibrant and effectively run event. The offerings for Caribana 2011 in your OZ them are beautiful and very creative. The hospitality which was extend to us is very much appreciated.
