Toronto carnival a success despite strikes and recession

Posted: 7th Aug 2009

Every summer Canada see’s Caribana Carnival, hosted in Toronto; bring in more than 1.2 million people onto Lake Shore.
Caribana this year started from Monday 14th July and finished on Sunday 2nd August 2009.

The festival showcases the Caribbean culture through the music, cuisine and performing arts. Other events that occur are the King and Queen show, Caribana parade and nightlife parties everyday of the week.

Caribana usually happens on Toronto Island but due to the doubts surrounding the civic strike, organisers moved the Carnival to Ontario place. It was the first time in 40 years that it had been held on the mainland.

Caribana is the largest Caribbean festivals in North America. One of the highlights of the carnival is the Parade, thousands of costumed masqueraders and dozens of trucks transport live Soca, Calypso, Steel Pan, Reggea and salsa artists parade the route all day. 

Like most carnivals, Caribana features all types of food, music, song, dance, theatrical drama and steelpans.
It would seem as though the recession did not affect the festival as predicted, being sponsored by Scotiabank obviously helped. There are suggestions that this year’s festival may have been the biggest in Caribana’s 42 year history.

Written By Nadia Auckburally