IN THE BEGINNING

There were good times! There were bad times! However Caribana survived for 50 plus years

There were two committees in 1966 to plan for the first Caribana celebration. The board of Governors was led by Alban Liverpool and the Executive committee was led by Sam Cole..

One article stated Cole was the one who sent a letter to the mayor asking for permission to stage the event. The same article later had Cole being asked by Mayor Dennison to stage the event again in 1968. However Cole's name didn't appear on the list of directors for the new organization called The Caribbean Committee for Cultural Advancement.

People from both committees came together and formed the new board chaired by Alban Liverpool. It was Liverpool the new chair who expressed his appreciation to the Toronto Mayor, other government members and the police for their support and help in staging the 68 festival.
...
Ten islands were initially involved in Caribana. Many had representatives on the board. Later more islands were added and there were often boards consisting on close to twenty members. Caribana was chaired by people from various islands. The Caribbean people were proud of Caribana because it was part of their culture. No one island dominated the festival, until the 1980s when a group named Harambee took total control of the board and festival and that's when the festival started going downhill.

The new people knew nothing about the structure and capabilities of the organization when dealing with the various government agencies. They dropped all the various fund raising events that allowed the festival to operate with very little money and input from the city, province and the federal government. Later the boards went to the city for funding and that's when the city saw the opportunity to take over and control the festival. Caribana has never been the same since and will never be the same until and unless it finds its roots.

The recent COVID-19 pandemic shows that carnivals worldwide are in trouble. Brazil one of the world's greatest carnival celebration is on hold due to the increasing numbers of COVID-19 infective persons. Restarting any carnival will need precaution exposing folks coming in from various countries where the virus is still present in their population.

Caribana 67

I played MAS in Whitfield Belasco band in 1967.

I was part of a group that went around Toronto to advertise the festival at several malls. Alfa King, Whitfield's brother was responsible for promoting the festival at the malls and that's how I got involved. Some years later as a member of the St. Vincentian and the Grenadines Association of Toronto, I was selected to become a member on the Caribana Board. Those days all islands had the opportunity to send representatives to sit on the Caribana Board. Sometimes there were close to 20 board members. Romain Pitt when asked in 67 why so many board members replied, "So that there will always be people around to carry the torch, when others leave the organization".

CCC Caribana survived for several years, until the early 80's when Harambee hi-jacked the organization and made several changes, including a reduction of the number of people on the board from various islands. The system of island representation was gone and the Caribbean community lost interest in Caribana.. Harambee members believed they had the answer to move the festival forward. However they got rid of the events that helped to keep CCC afloat with little help from the three levels of government. Ironically, all three level of government were making millions from the visitors who came for festival from the UK, US, The Caribbean and several South American countries.

Some of the South American countries tried to get involved, but were never given the opportunity to become a member of CCC oand TMBA (Toronto Mass Band Association), which was established some years earlier. CCC - Caribana problems started once TMBA was on the playing field. The local news media also got involved and was very critical of CCC. Of course there were problems but instead of being critical in a positive way that would help CCC to get out of its sink-hole due to a lack of any form of funding from the governments. ...The city started to draws back on deals that once helped CCC to pay its bills at the end of the festival. Very little money was left and members had to use their own money to start the festival each year.

Many people including the members of Harambee believed CCC board members were stealing thousands from the organization. It wasnt until they took control that they saw the cheques to some members were repayments for the loans they gave each year to start the festival. Harambee did apologize for spreading those false rumours, which it probably picked up from the local media ranting.

Then Harambee had no money in the cupboard and went to the government, cap-in-hand for funding. That's when the CCC problems began. All the new players saw an opportunity to seize control of the festival after several boards were unable to give accurate and transparent account of the government funding. Then in 2005 -2006 the city handed the festival to another group FMC.

And just like the Harambee group the new group believed it had the answers to the festival problems because of government funding. FMC tried to use the festival as a business entity. Carnival in the Caribbean is a free cultural entity where folks get the opportunity to play Mas and enjoy themselves. Of course governments make millions from the festival, but give very little to the organizers.Incidentally, it took several years for FMC to use the same back-door it took to come in and left by the same route.

The Rise And Fall of Caribana

The following information was obtained from documented articles.

This is How, When, Where and Why Caribana Started!

Across the country, the Canadian Centennial was celebrated by the Federal, Provincial and Municipal governments with an array of special projects, events, and other creations. Along with government projects, other groups started their own events to celebrate. Among the happenings on Toronto's Center Island was Caribana, a festival for the Caribbean population of 12,000 in Toronto. Organized over nine months, its committee included a doctor, two lawyers, a town planner and a teacher, all Caribbean emigrants working in Metro Toronto.

During a late 1966 meeting, it was decided that the concept of carnival was universal amongst Caribbean cultures, and T&T's celebration was the best model. The August long weekend was chosen for its heat and low chance of rain
...
On February 21, 1967, Caribbean Centennial Committee executive chairman Samuel A. Cole sent a letter requesting "permission to stage an exhibition of West Indian trade and cultural achievements at Olympic Island during the period of August 5 to 12, 1967:

The Metropolitan Parks Commissioner issued a report to the Parks and Recreation Committee on March 6, recommending the approval of a "Caribbean Centennial project at Olympic Island, Toronto Island". Thompson asked that approval be granted, with all details approved by the Metropolitan Parks Commissioner, and he asked to be authorized to co-operate with the group, so long as no direct costs were incurred to Metro.

CARIBANA 1967 EVENTS

The Caribbean Centennial Committee announced the "Caribana '67 Week" event on July 12. On Olympic Island event was to include the importation of coconut trees. The group sought information from the parks department "officers regarding irrigation systems and turf repair", in relation to planting tropical trees. The event would represent the 10 "main" Caribbean islands, plus Bermuda and Guyana. The event would include "a series of performances covering steel bands, calypso, dance, drama, night club and variety acts, films, water-skiing, kids' carnivals and adult carnivals." Calypso ferry cruises, teen fashion shows, a Caribbean fruit and vegetable market, Caribbean Queen contest, and the "usual" booths. A water-skiing festival was held on the island, simultaneously,on the weekend

Byron Lee and the Dragonaires were featured at a semi-formal ball at Casa Loma, August 4. The ball would become an annual tradition for some years, rotating from location-to-location. The parade launched the week's public events, heading from Varsity Stadium down
... University Avenue, to a reception at City Hall with Mayor William Dennison, and onto the docks. "As a carnival style parade, it'll be wide open to anybody who feels in the mood." Event chairman Dr. J. A. Liverpool explained to The Star that participants paid $10 or more for their costumes, which cost $30 to $40 a piece. Liverpool told that the subsidy was because "many of the paraders have jobs as maids or clerks." The Star reported with a single photograph, captioned that "a mile-long carnival procession of a thousand people in gaily-colored costumed gyrating to the music of five calypso bands." Ten of the floats and a thousand paraders didn't leave the stadium until 11:30 am, despite a 9:30 am start time. Dr. J. Alban told the Toronto Telegram that "West Indian time is different than North American time." The first parade attracted 50,000 spectators, but given Torontonian's typical reserve, it was considered quite quiet, compared to other carnivals.

On Sunday, August 6, the concerts on the Toronto Islands attracted 32,000, "a record mob"; "statistically, Caribana '67 is the event of the year". The Trinidadian performers from Expo 67 performed hourly from 6 to 10 pm on one day, the Journard Trinidad Players performed at their top level, despite no chance to rest after their trip from Montreal. There was a rainstorm at the start of the show, and a steel band played three numbers in the dark, flawlessly, when the lights short-circuited. Thanks to popular demand, Caribana '67 was extended an additional day, to the next Sunday. That final day set a one-day record for ferry use of 35,000, upping the old record by 3,000. Governor-General of Jamaica Sir Clifford Campbell, the first Jamaican-born Governor-General of that country, made a surprise guest appearance when returning home from Expo 67.

The entire event was to cost $50,000. Only $4,000 of that was contributed in advance, the rest being "paid as they occur by scores of West Indian Canadians." The Ontario Centennial Commission contributed $1,000 in advance. Within two months before the event, the "big islands" decided to send exhibits, but none funded the event. A group of sponsors agreed to cover any debt at the end of the festival, if box office tallies failed to result in a profit. If a profit was reached, it was to go to establishing a West Indian cultural centre.
Toronto Mayor William Dennison urged festival chairman Sam Cole to make the event an annual one. ... Parks commission Tommy Thompson agreed, having participated in the event himself, and estimating the island's year-end attendance would set an all-time record. Boat crews abandoned their schedules, simply going to and from the islands as fast as possible, with the sole off-duty crew called on-duty, and the boats running to midnight, and hour past their normal stop. Chairman Cole agreed the group would try to organize a follow-up event: "We made a few mistakes, wasted a little time and money. But it was worth it. It's been very successful and next time we'll know what pitfalls to avoid. One will be to forget any attempt to raise contributions or assistance from businesses.

The organization began a year-round presence. The Caribana Serenaders performed at the Royal York hotel on Boxing Day, during the Mayor's annual clinic for the Canadian Red Cross Society

CARIBANA 1968 FESTIVAL

Scheduled to run from July 31 to August 7, the second annual event was to launch with a steel band performance at the Canada Trust Tower, however the local musician union asked them not to play, as they hadn't been informed in advance; Hell's Gate of Antigua did manage to perform at Queen's Park. A grand ball at the Royal York hotel on August 2 picked the king and queen.

Events on the island attracted 25,000 Saturday, 34,000 Sunday, and 31,000 Monday; none of the days beat the one-day record of 38,000, set on July 14. More than 5,000 watched the parade. Reports of the event were limited, merely leading a story about the Simcoe Day weekend, which included notes on attendance at attractions like Fort York and the Tapawingo galleries near Kleinberg.... Soon after the event, a letter to the editor complained of the lack of queuing at the Toronto Island ferries; as of 2011, this issue remains for the Toronto Island ferries. The parade ended up losing money.

By year's end, the event would have a challenge. Metro Toronto council approved creation of a week-long Carnival Toronto, aiming to rival Mardi Gras. Chairman John Fisher of the newly formed Friends of the Carnival, Inc. conceived the event as being 2 million people "expressing themselves in an organized week of gaiety, frivolity and fun." The organization would also seek to merge the events of Caribana, the Italian Festival, Canadiana Week, Japanese Tanabata Festival, Mariposa Folk Festival, and a summer music festival, plus all Dominion Day celebrations. He asked for a grant of $20,000, with up to $50,000 later; council indicated this level of support would only be given after a report by Metro's information officer.

CARIBANA 1969 FESTIVAL

A pre-carnival dance was held July 4 at St. Lawrence Market, and a Caribbean-themed art exhibition at the Richview branch of the Etobicoke Library
The 1969 parade went from Varsity Stadium to the ferry docks. More than 75,000 watched the parade, in which 2000 performed. In the opening weekend, 30,000 visited in the Island. Cost of the festival was estimated to be $45,000, and they hoped to break even. Final stats found 54,000 visited the Island. Johnny Cayonne was a permanent staffer for the Caribana Cultural Committee, (the organization took its name January 15, having incorporated as "Caribbean Committee for Cultural Advancement"). Admission to the Olympia Beach event was reduced from $2 the previous year, to $1.

A variety of events were planned by the group, for the rest of the year. ...The Caribana Players performed Errol Hill's comedic play "Strictly Matrimony" at the West Indian Federation club on Brunswick Avenue, from Sunday, July 13 to Friday, July 18. The group debuted two new productions at the Colonnade Theatre in November 1969, and another production at Woodbine Inn, the bar of the Constellation Hotel, early the next year. Plans in August were to schedule an event for the winter, "Calysopra". There is no evidence in mainstream newspapers that this event actually ran.

CARIBANA 1970 FESTIVAL

By April, the Caribbean Cultural Committee had moved into new offices at 1079 Bathurst Street, near Dupont Street. The space was opened up for community use, including drama and dance lessons, with the performance practice area clearly visible to the community outside. St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts hosted a preview of Caribana on July 11, called "Caribana Kiddies Carnival Preview", a free show....

The focus on kids' participation was established earlier in the year, with the announcement of a kids area.

A Maple Leaf Gardens show on July 31, "Extravaganza '70", included Johnny Nash ("Cupid"), The Mighty Duke,

The St. Vincent Police Steel Band, and Haitian master drummer Ti Wowo.

Also included were the year's steel band competitions, calypso competition, King and Queen of the Bands, and a jump up.

The show was directed by Bertrand A. Henry.

Marianne Skanks, 18, a student at Vaughan Collegiate, won Miss Caribana '70

The "Caribana Island Show" went from August 1 to 9. Attendance goals were 100,000; favourable weather brought 25,000 on the opening weekend. Their only funding this year was gate admission. At its end, total attendance had sunk to 45,000 people from 54,000. Similarly, their goal of $80,000 towards a cultural centre was dashed by bills..

The parade from Varsity Stadium to the docks on Bay Street was launched by Eric Gairy, premier of Grenada. Heading from Varsity to Bay Street, at Hayter Street it cut to Yonge Street. Travelling south on Yonge to Front Street, it then proceeded to the docks. "Thousands" lined the streets to watch. Police reported no incidents; "it was very peaceful. xThe people were just out to have a lot of fun."

The day after the event, Caribbean Cultural Committee director John Cayonne told the Star that festival organizers "who worked at least 15 to 17 hours a day, were not allowed to go onto the ferry ahead of crowds, even though they had identification. There's a strong possibility we won't have Caribana '71 on the island." Metro Parks Commissioner Tommy Thompson expressed doubts that community groups should be charged for using public parks, and whether they in turn should be allowed to charge for events in public parks. Both issues were raised with relation to Caribana's $3,578 debt, that Thompson was asking be forgiven. East York Mayor True Davidson scolded council members for being "petty. This is a group that is doing a good thing both for their ethnic group and for Metro. It's created a real feeling of life and excitement. Let's stop carping and pay it."

CARIBANA 1971 FESTIVAL

Tommy Thompson's requests to Metro Council resulted in a $300-a-day fee be established for use of any of the Toronto Islands, for events like Caribana or the Mariposa Folk Festival, still displaced to Toronto. About a month before the event, the Metro parks committee decided "sipping Sherry... under a maple tree older than Confederation" in a member's backyard that no games of chance could be held on Toronto Island. Caribana organizers wanted to stage a lottery at the 1971 event, but Commissioner Thompson stated that it might end up encouraging people to visit the island solely in the hopes of winning money, as opposed to recreation.

The fifth time around, Caribana ran July 30 to August 8 on Olympic Island; the event was billed as being the only of its kind in North America. Ferry cruises were scheduled for the week prior, from July 27 to 29, and a "Ole Mas" costume dance was held July 24 at Ontario Science Centre. The event continued until 2 am. Eric Gairy on Grenada returned for the opening night, July 30, now Prime Minister of an independent country, joined by St. Vincent's Prime Minister Milton Cato. The parade route for the year was along from Varsity Stadium, along Bloor to Yonge, down to the ferry docks. Island events ran July 31 to August 8. Unusually, the parade was confined to just half of Yonge Street. The boat cruises featured the British West Indian Airways' Steltones. Nolan Baynes, 20, won Miss Caribana '71, and was featured on the front page of the Saturday Star

... A 51-year-old, who was watching the Caribana '71 parade with a grandson and neighbour's child, killed two people watching the parade with her car. Trying to turn left on to Yonge Street, the woman's brakes failed, the car hit a pedestrian crossing Front Street, before going through a wrought iron fence along the route, killing two brothers visiting from Washington, D.C., injuring the father of four, and 11 others. The woman was charged with "dangerous driving". A suicide closed the Yonge Street subway line on Friday evening, meaning people leaving Caribana needed to pack limited buses. By the 1:30 am Saturday morning, many became tired of waiting for additional Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) buses, having waited 40 minutes already. They packed onto buses so much "that standing passengers were forced into the laps of those sitting." Several individual fights erupted on the bus, including one "between two men over woman, who claimed one of the men had attacked her." The driver and two off-duty TTC drivers on the bus was not able to bring the passengers to order, so the driver honked his horn for a few minutes straight, until police came.

The year's events were boycotted by the Black Students Union at the University of Toronto, partly because of their feelings that the event had not developed at the speed and in the direction that some would have like. Additionally, they felt that "It is time for black people to understand that we must struggle, not dance, if we are going to survive... the line between reaction and revolution within our community is being indelibly drawn.

The year's festival attracted 45,000 people, cost $60,000, and turned a $5,000 profit. Due to low attendance during the week, the next year's festival would be reduced to just three days, and the total budget increased, partly to open food stalls and get a liquor licence to serve beer.

RE: the re-organization of the CCC: 2005 -2006

A MESSAGE FROM CHARLES ROACH, CHAIR, CARIBBEAN CULTURAL COMMITTEE

Question: Is it possible for the membership to examine what's left of CCC to organize? The first step is to look at were we are today, and where we want to be tomorrow. Any thing short of this is "spinning top in mud"

DEAR CARIBANA MEMBER,

I wish to invite you to attend a Caribana Members meeting on Saturday November 18, 2006 at Toronto City Hall, 100 Queen Street West, in Committee Room # 3. Registration time is 11:00 a.m. I am attaching copy of the Motion to amend the constitution and membership application form.

Over the past several months, I have been meeting with participants and interest groups involved with Caribana including CCC membership, government officials and business interests. is the story of the men, women and children in the community who have played a role in its support. ...

Question: Were other board members involved in these discussions? I sense the answer is no, since the word I is use extensively and very loosely and freely. Hence the reference to the endorsement from the CCC board sounds shallow and deceptive.

I was just told your article is in the local media and it states Caribana Chair not CCC board - is proposing changes. This brings up my point in the previous paragraph. The Lone Ranger attitude does not help. If you can't convince the other board members of you intentions, how do you expect to convince the membership?

Everyone wants to see accountability, transparency and ethical conduct in the way in which we conduct our affairs. Accordingly, here are some proposed re-organizational changes: The CCC Board has endorsed the establishment of a subsidiary Corporation called Caribana Festival Management Board to manage and produce the annual festival which will be known as the Caribana International Arts Festival. This structural change will resolve many of the financial and management problems related to the production of the festival.

A 51-year-old, who was watching the Caribana '71 parade with a grandson and neighbour's child, killed two people watching the parade with her car. Trying to turn left on to Yonge Street, the woman's brakes failed, the car hit a pedestrian crossing Front Street, before going through a wrought iron fence along the route, killing two brothers visiting from Washington, D.C., injuring the father of four, and 11 others. The woman was charged with "dangerous driving". A suicide closed the Yonge Street subway line on Friday evening, meaning people leaving Caribana needed to pack limited buses By the 1:30 am Saturday morning, many became tired of waiting for additional Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) buses, having waited 40 minutes already. They packed onto buses so much "that standing passengers were forced into the laps of those sitting." Several individual fights erupted on the bus, including one "between two men over woman, who claimed one of the men had attacked her." The driver and two off-duty TTC drivers on the bus was not able to bring the passengers to order, so the driver honked his horn for a few minutes straight, until police came.

The year's events were boycotted by the Black Students Union at the University of Toronto, partly because of their feelings that the event had not developed at the speed and in the direction that some would have like. Additionally, they felt that "It is time for black people to understand that we must struggle, not dance, if we are going to survive... the line between reaction and revolution within our community is being indelibly drawn.

The year's festival attracted 45,000 people, cost $60,000, and turned a $5,000 profit. Due to low attendance during the week, the next year's festival would be reduced to just three days, and the total budget increased, partly to open food stalls and get a liquor licence to serve beer.

RE: Communication with Colin Rickard 2006

The issues and problems with FMC and CAG

From: Colin Rickards

To: Vere Palmer

Sent: Mon, July 18, 2011 1:02:21 AM
Subject: Re: TMBA to run the festival

Vere:

Actually, I think there were only three Directors at the Town Hall Meeting" Henry. Winston and Knia, out of the 10 they have, which may say something. When they were trying to sell their T-shirts, it was asked: "How many people here are members?" Henry did a count of hands and said: "Only about half." There were 30 people in the room at the time. 'Nuff said!

I'm not sure how far Amah Harris -- who is from Dominica, as I am sure you know -- can go to be helpful. At the AGM she volunteered to be a Mediator between the CAG and FMC. At the Town Hall Meeting she told of her aborted efforts -- but at least she'd made the effort -- to bring Charley and Henry together. Then she launched into a diatribe of things Caribana which was so all wrong and out of date that I wonder if she really understands the subtitles and nuances and realizes what is happening. Good luck!

Colin:

On 17/07/2011 11:17 PM, Vere Palmer wrote:

Hi Colin,
The good Dr. is correct. That gear remains up to this day. That's why although all the islands had a place on the board, only few accepted the position. I was PRO for SVG when I decided to accept the position on the board. I also tried with Lennox to draw some islands in the loop, but again that insular feeling raised its ugly head. However, I believe I know how to bridge that gap. It will take some time and work, but it can be accomplished. That?s why I volunteered to work with the woman Harris to look for ways to get the community support. I haven?t heard anything after the meeting. CAG also has a problem getting full board meetings. Your article pointed out that there were only 4 0r 5 five board members at that meeting. That?s about all they usually get at their board meeting.

From: Colin Rickards

To: Vere Palmer

Sent: Sun, July 17, 2011 1:25:17 PM
Subject: Re: TMBA to run the festival
Dear Vere:
I agree on all fronts. Monica -- who was victimized somewhat by certain male CCC Board Members -- chauvinist piggery won?t step forward, but is glad to be in the back. Hill would never come up from Antigua, where, I understand, he is well dug in. Farrell is busy trying to make himself relevant, which he isn?t. I, too, think that the CAG and Henry need to re-focus their efforts on things that people agree with, and build ? perhaps ? a support base from there. I?m not sure if it is relevant now -- as hopefully, the Community has grown up ? but Dr. Bygrave, who was at the Town Hall Meeting, told me that when the embryo group was, in 1966/67, trying to get the several West Indian organizations on board he found their was resistance because they saw the new committee as trying to take them over, or at least poach members. He said that the JCA and the Barbados Association were especially difficult. Colin ...

On 16/07/2011 12:42 PM, Vere Palmer wrote: Hi Colin, I am appending 2 documents that will show that I am in agreement with you about the formation of the board. There is no other way to get the community involved. Share has a piece by Lennox that mentioned Monica and Dalma as conscripts. I like both, but each had an opportunity in the past to make some changes. I can?t see what they can add at this time around to this mess. Monica bailed out and left CCC rudderless, which gave the city the space to move in. Why does Lennox believe it would be smooth sailing if she returns and there is more pressure? As a matter of fact Lennox has never done anything right for CCC and Caribana. He is responsible for this mess, but nobody wants to admit it. I have to agree that he was not the only one, because Ellsworth also helped to destroy the fabrics of the organization. I found out Cosmos was right when he said folks don?t care who runs the festival; all they want to do is play mas?. However what some folks are mad about is the name change. This is the topic CAG should be beating to get support. Instead it is looking to regain the festival and the funding, which is not the right place to start a dialog. FMC owes CCC an apology. It now realizes that the $1million plus it get is still not enough to run a festival. This is another point Cosmos reiterated at the meeting. However he should be telling that to the community every day, so they realize that CCC was short changed, especially with the $12million and $15million to other less deserving events. From: Colin Rickards To: Vere Palmer Sent: Fri, July 15, 2011 12:58:28 PM Subject: Re: TMBA to run the festival Dear Vere: Thanks for your support of my efforts to report accurately and fairly on the whole CCC/CAG debacle. I think I only partially agree with you that ?there is no structure to reform the organization so that the issues that brought CCC to its knees are removed.? I believe that the new Constitution, as such, is essentially workable. Where it will come unstuck is when (it is not ?if?) they decide to work outside the Constitution, as has invariably been done by the CCC over the years. You will have noted that when Owen Leach asked why the Board had embarked on legal action before speaking to the membership, Margaret Parsons jumped in and said they didn?t have to. (This is the way she operates the ACLC, and you know the problems they?ve had!) I don?t think this is the case, but there was nobody present with a Constitution. Even if it is the case, it should not have been done, as it is so very fundamental. I think almost the main problem is that those on the Board don?t have the skills to even direct the festival -- as a Policy Board -- let alone manage it. You would ?like to see all board members are representatives of a community group? and I am not necessarily sure that this would work. What would -- and should -- be possible is that there be an elected Board, plus a set of seats on it reserved for the various National organizations, who would name their own individual representative. It would need a Constitutional Amendment to create this, and the National reps should have the same voting powers as the elected board members, otherwise they would be treated like the FMC?s Advisory Board and -- being the CAG/CCC -- ignored. You will realize that while I think this is what should happen, as do you, I don?t look for it any time soon, if ever. Colin On 09/07/2011 1:19 AM, Vere Palmer wrote: Hi Colin, The meeting was called to push some people's agenda - the T-shirt and the placard waving critics. I refused to sign-on to either and I told them so. You have been fair in reporting Caribana issues and there are documented proofs of that. You probably heard Kathleen calling on you to write on the financial issue. I am trying to tell them that?s their job and not to depend on the media. Most people just sit back and let others do the heavy lifting. I don?t know if you picked up from Charlie?s article why many CCC people joined FMC. I came to the conclusion that many disagreed with the new constitution, the name change and Charlie himself. I thought I was the only one with those opinions. It now appears that several people shared the same ideas, but said nothing. They just move over to the other side. I still see CAG as CCC in the latter days of its existence. There is no structure to reform the organization so that the issues that brought CCC to its knees are removed. I?d like to see all board members are representatives of a community group. I was glad to see many people are now signing on to the idea. I am waiting to see what steps Cosmos will take to get that volunteer group in place to look at the community issue. From: Colin Rickards To: Vere Palmer Sent: Fri, July 8, 2011 3:19:04 PM Subject: Re: TMBA to run the festival Dear Vere: We didn?t really get a chance to chat ? except briefly in the washroom ? after the meeting. Of course, your question of ?What do we hope to here tonight? was not properly answered ? and you did not expect it to be! You know, Vere, I sit in these meetings and listen to the attacks on the Community Media, and I truly wonder if people ever read ? or comprehend ? my Column. As you well know, I have carefully chronicled virtually every step, going to meetings when nobody else from the media bothered to go, and often using only the positive, or vaguely positive, rather than the negative. I?ve given all the relevant figures time and again, explained why things are ? not supporting them, but explaining them, to give people a chance to understand, and work to rectify them. I often think that many of the people are more interested in wailing and gnashing their teeth ? and enjoy it ? rather than working seriously for change. Like you, many times I have felt like that ?still small voice in the wilderness.? The last time I did a very detailed ?this is how things are ? change them? piece, you will recall that Auguste attacked me on his front page as ?a White Englishman?who means to good to this community.? Well, a pox on him, too. Colin On 08/07/2011 12:24 PM, Vere Palmer wrote: Folks, I am looking at the email below, sent out in April 2006 and one word that jumps out at me is the word community. The same word was right, left and center at CAG's meeting yesterday. I would say the meeting had the elements of (the good, the bad, and the ugly). The good come in the form of Cosmos rebuttal of the negative picture of CCC finances, painted by the city, the local papers and the bandleaders. This negative picture went on for far too long, without strong rebuttals with figures to show the lies that were being told to the community. The argument made by Cosmos and several other people should be used as a campaign slogan to reverse engineer those false labels attributed to CCC. The figures are there to show where every cent was spent and the only outfits that benefited were the mas? men, police and the city. This is the message that has to be used like a road march to instill and reverse those false stories. Don't depend on the local media, as some people suggested. They were the one who helped to lay the ground work for those same falsehoods. They never used the figures to come to the conclusion that CCC didn?t have the necessary funds to operate a $450million festival. Of course they now see the light, after the $12million and $15million hand out to entities that do little for the city, province and the country. But would they help to correct their error? I don?t think so. It is now left to CAG and all the outspoken supporters of Caribana to beat this tune, so everybody will hear it, see it and even sing it. Now that brings me to the next point that came up at the meeting: How to get the message out to the community. I have tried for years to get a dialog on http://www.caribana.ca/chat.php, so people can air their feelings about Caribana. Do you know not one person in yesterday audience signed up to become a member of Caribana.ca? As a matter of fact they don?t even have to sign up to exchange ideas with others in the CHAT room.. The entire CAG board can pick a date and time to communicate with the community. Just let folks know whose going be taking the questions, and what time they would be online. It?s the same like a radio show with no time limit and advertisement. Communication happens in seconds (5 seconds) to be exact. It works exactly like Twitter. All those who sign on to the page can see what?s being discussed, even though they don?t take part in the physical discussion. All that?s needed is a date, time and mass emailing to the entire community so they can sign in to see and partake in the discussion. Now to the Ugly part: It was not beneficial for folks to go over the details of what some boards or board members did to bring on the problems CCC financial fiasco. Most of it is History and half-truths. I fail to see how these episodes help to move the Caribana issue forward. The only positive spin is to ensure things are in place to block such behaviors. The time spent on this issue could have been used to set some criterion for a group, headed by a CAG member, to look into several aspects of a plan to move forward. The Bad: This was the urge to draw out a debate on Charlie?s role in the Caribana and FMC fiasco. I was never happy with Charlie accent to CCC throne. I voiced that opinion in 2006 and onwards. Again no one listened to my pleas. Why did it take folks so many years to come to the same conclusion I had that many years ago? Both the Ugly and Bad categories had too many ?he say and she say? to be of any positive help to the issue at hand. There were no clear lines of a real positive end game. Hence I believe it was an unnecessary undertaking. Then there were many who didn?t believe in the lawyer?s assessment of some sections of the cases brought against some elements or entities involved in the Caribana fiasco. I am no lawyer and I have to believe her assessment of why the case to stop the festival was dropped. However I disagree with the reason given for dropping it. The Camera had it right when it referred to the action as back peddling, or words to that effect. It was easier to drop the case and say nothing. Let me wrap up her but reiterate my invitation to host a Twitter like session on Caribana.ca, to start correcting the false impression about CCC finances, sowed into the minds of our community.

I have just been informed that TMBA will get the nod to run the festival this year. I am not sure if it involves the Parade and the Island. These are the only two events that have survived in CCC cupboard. Now it?s totally empty. I think we?ve lost an opportunity to get TMBA and CCC to work together. Neither will survive on its? own. The money problem and infighting that haunted CCC will also be a major problem for TMBA. The reason is that both entities rely on government handout, which comes with major control. You are now aware of those controls, and the effect it has on the community. And speaking about the community where does it fit into all this: Well the CCC is more representative of the community, while TMBA represents the mas men/women. CCC is a more open to the community, because you don?t need a band to be a member. Hence the community has lost any input to the running of the festival. The scenario I am laying out here can be a problem for TMBA, to get the full support of the community. For those who believe you don?t need the community support ? think again. In spite of how some people may feel, the volunteer system is what kept Caribana going for over 39 years. Neither group will grow, or survive unless the entire community is behind it. I told that to Harambee group in the 80?s. Well, as the saying goes, ?the rest is history?. I don?t care much for TMBA, or CCC. My concern is Caribana. That word unites us as a community, and calling the festival by any other name is sacrilegious. Do you see the Chinese people changing their Boat Race to ?Toronto Boat Race?? Hell no. That?s what defines who they are. It makes them stand out. That?s what the name Caribana did for us. We were somebody, but without it we are nobody. What a pity!

The present organisation looks to a future bright with hope. New directions are being pursued with a more efficient organisation. The Ministry of Citizenship and Culture has committed its support together with the assistance of the Metropolitan Toronto Police Force. Caribana's place in the history of the city as a multicultural centre is assured.

Article By Pat Sheppard

Caribana

By: Pat Sheppard

From: Polyphony Summer 1984 pp. 135-139

1984 Multicultural History Society of Ontario

Caribana began as the dream of ten enthusiastic individuals from diverse backgrounds but with a common West Indian heritage. They called their organisation the Centennial Committee. On July 28, 1967 it was formally incorporated as the Caribbean Committee for Cultural Advancement, but later changed to the Caribbean Cultural Committee-Caribana (January 15, 1969). Their dream was the construction of a monument of goodwill, a confirmation of Caribbean culture and a statement of belonging to their adopted land, Canada.

This dream was forged in the heady days of 1967, when Canada was celebrating its Centennial and the West Indian community was asked to make a contribution which would enhance the celebrations of Expo '67. It took the form of a colourful parade down Yonge Street. George Bancroft, former executive director in the Ministry of Culture and Recreation, wrote in Caribana's 1980 Souvenir Magazine:

"I saw the first [parade] in 1967. It was spontaneous, exuberant and a lot of fun. This was organized, I believe, by Dr. Al Liverpool and his colleagues. I recall this first venture was made to coincide with the celebration of our Canadian Centenary. I remember the groups assembling on Bloor Street outside the Varsity Stadium . . . and proceeding east along Bloor to Yonge, then down Yonge Street. It was one of the first grand public statements of the West Indian presence in Canada."

The dream persists today for over 200,000 revellers, well-wishers and patrons, who celebrate in the parade down University Avenue or on Olympic Island in late July and early August each year.

Caribana's struggles over the last seventeen years are part of the painful learning experiences of a non-profit organisation endeavouring to stage one of Canada's major tourist attractions. These experiences would have been sufficient to daunt the spirit of most volunteer organisations and to cause their early demise. However, Caribana has tenaciously survived throughout these years. The survival and success of Caribana is the story of the men, women and children in the community who have played a role in its support. ...
What were the guiding principles of the organisation, and how were these principles followed? What aims were enunciated and how successful was Caribana in achieving them? As stated by Romain Pitt, a Toronto lawyer born in Grenada who was one of the founding directors:
" The most important thing to remember was that there were three features in designing the organization. We wanted a large board of directors. We decided, on the basis of the history of failures of other organizations, it was important to have enough people to do the job. As a result of that decision, the odds were that we could attract highly skilled (and influential) people to the Board. The Board had to be apolitical. By virtue of its decision not to take political sides, it would be possible to have people of many different persuasions working together. Membership was voluntary. The Letters Patent state that the directors shall serve. . . without remuneration, and no director shall directly or indirectly receive any profit from his position. Because of the size of the Board, there would always be a core of dedicated and unselfish people to call on."

The organization has consistently maintained these principles throughout the years even though a twenty-one-member board has been unwieldy at times. In October 1983, through constitutional amendment the number was reduced to fifteen.

The committee's first aim was the promotion of Caribbean culture. Culture is loosely defined as the manifestation of a people's heritage through the spoken and written word, song, dance and works of art. In this area Caribana has been eminently successful in planning, organizing, promoting and displaying the best available components of West Indian artistic talent in Toronto. The second aim was to acquire, maintain and operate a community centre. Other aims refer to the recognition and support of similar organisations; the sponsorship of events of a social or recreational nature; the acquisition and use of gifts in the furtherance of these aims and the undertaking of financial endeavours in the pursuit of its objectives. However, the objectives were more difficult to achieve than originally anticipated. The difficulties experienced resulted partly from the nature of the organisation, its structure and its role in the community.

The form and function of the organisation changed considerably over the years. What was originally conceived as a celebration for a single event in 1967 became a continuing program. Liverpool - a medical practitioner at Doctor's Hospital in the College-Spadina Avenue area-was the driving force behind the formation of the Centennial Committee. He and his group contacted various West Indian island governments to obtain their support in the venture. The response was tremendously positive. Local Toronto businessmen and community groups were also extremely excited by the prospect of participating in this event. Al's drive and infectious enthusiasm were helpful in attracting support.

The committee's tasks were made easier by the excitement generated by the commitment of local and West Indian governments, airlines, tourist boards, artists and interested individuals. For the first time in Canada a West Indian exposition of cultural events which would parallel Canada's main event, Expo '67 in Montreal, was going to be staged in Toronto. As a result of the strong, positive, community response, the Centennial Committee decided with the support of Metropolitan Toronto and the City of Toronto Councils, to hold the event on Olympic Island for one week. The Centennial Ball at Casa Loma and the parade of costumed bands down Yonge Street began the show. Eric Lindsay, a lawyer and founding director, said: "We are pleased that the West Indian governments were prepared to contribute artistic talent and to pay for the transportation of the artists from Trinidad, Jamaica, etc. Local businessmen, individuals and groups also gave unstintingly of their resources of time, money, expertise and products. Contributions of plants, straw hats, food, posters, advertisements, promotions, were happily made. We had good help, plenty of it and at little or no cost."

The 1967 celebrations were successful in terms of impact on the community-the demonstration of the capability of a volunteer group with no prior experience to orchestrate one week of intense activity and the satisfaction of the participants in the celebration of a national event. The success of the 1967 celebrations was due in large measure to the donations, assistance and contributions of the emerging Black community and the active participation of mainstream Canada in a colourful and happy affair.

In 1968 Caribana harnessed the energy and drive that was built up with the momentum of 1967. The focus was placed on doing something for the West Indian community, which created changes in the growth of the organisation. The Cultural Committee felt that in the emerging West Indian community- composed mainly of graduates, students, businessmen and recent immigrants-there was a need to provide social services such as assistance with immigration matters.

In addition to Caribana shows, the committee pursued its social objectives by sponsoring interpretative dance classes in 1969 and 1970, together with a drama group which presented two plays by Caribbean playwrights, the formation of a steel band and the provision of practice facilities and the sponsorship of lectures and seminars for new immigrants from the Caribbean to aid their understanding of and adjustment to Canadian life. From October 1970 to April 1971, the committee offered temporary accommodation to the Black Youth Organisation whose primary purpose was to assist underprivileged Black Youth.

Non-West Indians who were previously active in the organization and in the development of the festival became onlookers. The organization, now called the Caribbean Committee for Cultural Advancement, was structured around a board of directors, whose executive committee was responsible for the formal administration of the organization. The remaining six directors contributed ideas, suggestions and advice through ad-hoc subcommittees. The main subcommittees dealt with business, social and cultural activities, research, public relations and recreation. A Carnival subcommittee, composed of members and band leaders, was formed to organize and plan the Caribana parade which was increasing in size and complexity. Like most volunteer organizations, the committee relied on assistance from members and supporters to perform the many functions associated with staging such an event, from the development and distribution of print material to the erection of stage lights. Archibald Bastien, a founding director and a professional engineer, worked closely with city officials in providing electric power to Olympic Island. Individuals, like Peter Marcelline, a City Planner and long-standing founding member, donated their vacation time to perform many functions from the collection of tickets to the dispensing of beer.

In 1967 community support for Caribana was given in time, money and expertise. However, in the ensuing years, this same support was left to the organization itself. The expense of renting halls, an office, equipment, booths, island ferries, chairs and tables and providing for artists' fees, prize monies, printing, advertising, security and insurance was increasingly difficult to meet. The organisation was forced to appeal to the provincial government for assistance. This situation deteriorated to the extent that in 1974 the chairman, Mr. Elmore Daisy, presented to the province a brief in which he wrote: "The Caribana festival is our major source of revenue. While we can justifiably claim that the past six Caribana events have been culturally successful, we have been able to realize only minimal amounts of net revenue. The 1970 Extravaganza experiment left us with a deficit of some $16,000 which we have reduced to some $2,500 total indebtedness. In brief then, net profit from each year's function was barely sufficient to enable the organisation to keep functioning on a year-round basis.

We therefore, request that you consider favourably this application for a grant of $25,000 in support of general activities and to finance in part our planned community activities on a continuing basis."

The grant request was denied. Shorn of support in 1974, without viable assets and already committed to the event, directors signed personal loan guarantees to obtain the needed funds. Two years later, the province awarded a rival group of Carnival band leaders, called the Carnival Development Association, $20,000 to stage a Carnival parade scheduled for Caribana week. At that time, the committee received only a permit for the same event.

For the next five years, 1976-81, the future of the organisation was in doubt. Other groups captured the essence and spirit of Carnival and built upon the concept to stage various summer productions. George Lowe, the first treasurer and a member of the Centennial Committee, said in reference to the Centennial parade: "It was the first time that West Indians had given anything to Canada. You can now see the effects in other parades where the costumes are much more colourful and people seem to enjoy themselves more on the street."

While the impact of colour was indeed significant in other street festivals in Toronto, it was not until the expected summer Caribana festival was threatened, because of increasing deficits in 1982 and 1983 that provincial grants in excess of $7,500 were made available to the group.

The present organisation looks to a future bright with hope. New directions are being pursued with a more efficient organisation. The Ministry of Citizenship and Culture has committed its support together with the assistance of the Metropolitan Toronto Police Force. Caribana's place in the history of the city as a multicultural centre is assured.

Roger Gibbs - CARIBANA Toronto Caribbean Carnival re-imagined

The community that has given us the Toronto Caribbean Carnival (TCC) for over five decades has nothing to show for their efforts. Caribana/TCC arts community is in disarray. Despite the billions of dollars which their creative output has contributed to the local economy, there is no Carnival Arts centre or community space for the festival's stakeholder groups - masquerade producers, steelpan orchestras, music and dance/theatre groups, designers and artisans. There are no educational or skills development programs being offered, no resource centre or institution devoted to the documentation and preservation of the decades of work by this community of Canadian artists. There is no space for the storage and conservation of Carnival costume creations and installations of merit.

Caribana/TCC arts community operates outside of the wider Canadian arts community within a cultural ghetto. With a few notable exceptions, its members receive no support from Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Arts Council, or Canada Council. Festival collaborations and partnerships with other large Canadian arts organization are non-existent. This cultural ghetto is primarily the result of the process that immigrant communities undergo in Canada to preserve identity and in the case of Caribana/TCC, a decision taken in the late 1990s to transfer core funding of the festival from the Toronto Arts Council, where it was overseen by the Council's Festival & Urban Arts Committee, to being directly funded by the City of Toronto. Caribana/TCC had outgrown the Toronto Arts Council limited budget's and was designated a Major Cultural Organization (MCO), funded by City's Economic and Community Development Committee.

This administrative move to directly fund Caribana/TCC by a Council committee instead of the City's arms-length body (TAC) with an artistic development mandate was supposed to make it easier for the City of Toronto deal with the TCC's spectacular growth, and for the festival's management to access increased annual funding. What it did was sever the formal relationship between the festival's creative community and the Toronto Arts Council. No longer would funding be overseen by a TAC jury composed of professional artists and arts managers. City economists and bureaucrats would oversee the festival's funding envelope, with a City councillor serving as liaison.
...
Subsequent years of infighting and jockeying for additional funding among the festival's artistic stakeholders led to an internal collapse in the festival's management and in 2005. The City intervened and the Festival Management Committee (FMC) was installed to stabilize the crisis situation.

Under the new arrangement, which was supposed to be temporary but became entrenched and remains today, the FMC adopted a governance model referred to as the shopping mall model. The shopping mall model sees management of the festival as a purely a transactional one: secure venues, licences, manpower, and provide the services and resources necessary - porta-potties, stage, sound, lighting, catering tables, chairs and golf carts - to run the festival program; solicit sponsors, vendors and media coverage, and submit reports. Repeat process each year. The FMC has done this incredibly complex operation for the past fifteen years.

The festival's artistic content is treated as window dressing to this logistical operation. FMC's shopping mall model doe view its role as an exponent of the arts and it assumes no curatorial responsibility for its program content. The shopping mall model does not offer artistic leadership or chart strategic development in the Carnival arts, despite the festival being one of the largest arts and cultural entity in the country. The festival simply offers Canadian Carnival arts workers seasonal employment, and foreign artists international gigs. There are no subject matter specialists (practicing professional artists or arts administrators) on the FMC's board or executive team.

The consequence of this vacuum of artistic leadership is that over the past 15 years the quality of mas designs has declined; the number of mas bands in the Grand Parade is half what it once was; the amount of live music in the Grand Parade has plummeted. The steelpan, the signature instrument of the TCC's brand, struggles to maintain its profile in the festival. Its single large steelpan event is a competition among the same roughly dozen groups, year after year. Calypso artists who have contributed a substantial body of original work for decades have virtually disappeared or gone into remission. The festival leadership have offered no plan to develop or invest in the art of calypso at a community level.

Music presented by the festival has always been recycled work from Trinidad & Tobago and neighbouring islands. Canadian artists who compose and arrange calypso, soca, or related Caribbean dance music receive token for their original work from this taxpayer-funded festival. Likewise, steelpan arrangers or innovators. soca and calypso performers, along with other Canadian-based artists, receive minimal support, while international foreign acts secure top fees and billing. Mas' designers and technicians, whose work attract the massive audiences to the festival, get a pittance. Most of the large costumes (kings and queens) featured in the festival are funded out of the pockets of the individuals who pay to perform in the costume.

Canadian artists who create the costumes, music, dance, and other types of entertainment in the festival have no voice in the FMC shopping mall model. During my 12-year tenure on the FMC board I wrote and spoke out at length about the dysfunction and limitations of the festival's governance model and the festival's isolation within the wider Canadian arts community. The major obstacle to change is the Caribana/TCC arts community itself. The component organizations who represen the masquerade, steelpan, and calypso/soca sectors in the festival are, when they function at all, inefficient and immature arts service organizations. These core festival stakeholders are dependent on funding they receive from the FMC, a body whose governance model does not prioritise arts development. Cut off from the wider arts community, none are currently clients of the Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Arts Council, or Canada Council, and able to benefit from arts council's funding and arts administration expertise. The ma, steelpan and calypso model brought from the Caribbean is different to Canada where the arts are organized in disciplines music, dance, theatre, visual/fine arts. The current segregation from the wider arts community is not healthy for either party.

RE IMAGINE

The emerging generation of the Caribbean diaspora in Canada needs a positive message. They do not confront the same battles or challenges as their elders who grew up in the West Indies/Caribbean. They are Canadian-born and yearn to feel a sense of solidarity and pride with their Canadian brothers and sisters of Caribbean/West Indian descent. If we empower them with a message of unity, they can achieve a "one Caribbean" here in Canada in a way we failed to achieve in the past in the Caribbean via Federation or Caricom.

The challenge is to define the festival, identify its core values, and build a better governance model. Imagine a festival that celebrates Caribbean arts and culture in its full diversity music, dance, theatre, fine arts and crafts, food and culinary arts, and more. A festival that pays tribute to its origin, and recognizes and appreciates its new home in Canada. Imagine a festival that leaves behind the old hatreds and divisions of the Caribbean's colonial past; a festival whose core values champion artistic achievements of the Canadian exponents of the art of Carnival masquerade, Caribbean drumming music (e.g. steelpan), and Caribbean dance music, especially calypso & soca.

Imagine a festival which strives to be a visionary leader in the Canadian Caribbean Carnival arts community, prioritizes innovation and education, and demands high curatorial and production standards. The festival whose governance and management's core objective will be the development and progress of the Canadian Carnival arts, paired with good management of the festival's business operations.

The FMC has managed the festival for the past 15 years. It has built up an elaborate ecosystem of arts producers, service providers, government and business networks, and administrative supports. These assets are critical to the financial and operational wellbeing of the festival. To toss this aside would be reckless and counterproductive. Any effort to reimagine the festival must involve the FMC as a key player. It needs to retire its shopping mall model and evolve into a role that accepts full responsibility for leadership in the Canadian Carnival arts. That means a major rethinking of its mandate and adoption of a governance model that prioritize the arts.

Roger Gibbs

416-484-6914

www.spiritofcalypso.com

TRACING THE ORIGIN OF TRINIDAD'S CARNIVAL TO GRENADA

How is it that Carnival, a festival that is so strongly influenced by the French, found its nursery on an island that was never colonized by the French?

From the time I read Joachim Mark's fervent and bold assertion that Grenada gave Carnival to Trinidad, I could not help but agree with him.

Mark, an educator, history buff and a great historical archivist, has since gone to the Great Beyond. I read his assertion as a college student and his thesis has remained with me all those years. And, from time to time in my perusing through carnival history literature, I will come across passing comments on the issue that will strengthen Mark's argument.

Let's apply some reason, logic and historical facts as we try to determine how carnival with its strong French influence (European origin) could find its Caribbean nursery in a place never, ever colonized by the French. We're talking about Trinidad.

Trinidad was colonized by the Spanish and then the British. The French never had the good fortune of laying its hands on the oil-rich Caribbean country.

The word "carnival,' as most of us now know, comes from French "carnevale.'' Many centuries ago, the Catholics of Italy held a wild costumed festival right before the first day of Lent.

Because Catholics are not supposed to eat meat during Lent, they called their festival "Carnevale,'' which means "put away the meat.'' Thus, the word "Carnival'' was derived there from; to us, it means "farewell to the flesh'' the last hooray before the Lenten season begins.

Moreover, J'ouvert, Canboulay, Dimanche Gras and other French-based words continue to be associated with Carnival as we know it in the Caribbean.

Early carnival practitioners

There is no doubt that the early practitioners of Carnival in the Caribbean were the French planters and their enslaved Africans. That is well documented and one can uncover sufficient evidence in the literature on carnival.

Michael La Rose, in his essay "Carnival Origins,' notes that, "carnival first came to Trinidad with the French Catholic plantation slave owners during the 1700s.''

La Rose further writes: "The festival dates back to the 18th century and the influx of French Catholic planters both white and free coloured their slaves and free blacks, in the 1780s. The white and free coloured both staged elaborate masquerade balls at Christmas and as a 'farewell to the flesh' before the Catholic Lenten season.''
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And there is more from writer Christopher Curley. In a paper titled, "A Brief History of Carnival in the Caribbean,'' he notes that, "Historians believe the first 'modern' Caribbean carnival originated in Trinidad and Tobago in the late 18th century as a flood of French migr's brought the masquerade tradition with them to the island....''
Michael Anthony, the celebrated Trinidadian historian and author, in his seminal work, "THE CARNIVALS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO FROM INCEPTION TO YEAR 2000,'' states as a matter of fact that, "The people who brought the Carnival to Trinidad began arriving around 1785, and they came here as a result of what is known as the 'Cedula of Population for Trinidad.' This was a decree by King Carlos of Spain in 1783.''
Anthony goes further to explain, "....and the key island to cite here is Grenada. Grenada, which had been settled by the French in 1650, was captured by the British in 1762 during a bitter struggle against the French in the Windward Islands. The French settlers in Grenada remained very uneasy under British rule, and one of them, a planter called Roume De St Laurent, came to Trinidad in 1777 to see if he could like it well enough to settle here.''
This "Cedula of Population for Trinidad'' was proclaimed by the King of Spain on the 24th of February 1783. Roume De St Laurent, the Grenadian planter, after meeting with the Governor of Trinidad and the Intendant at Caracas, traveled to Spain to meet with the King himself to sell his ideas on how French planters not just in Grenada but throughout the Windward Islands could make their home in Trinidad.
The 'Cedula' involved tax exemptions, and free grants of land and other incentives to encourage people to come live and invest in Trinidad. The new Governor of Trinidad, Jose Maria Chacon, was given the responsibility of implementing the project. And it was implemented in 1784.
Michael Anthony says: "The French settlers and their slaves from the Windward Islands began to crowd into Trinidad.''
Of course, the influx of new settlers did not come only from Grenada but also from Martinique, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Dominica, St Lucia and St Vincent. Lots of these immigrants settled in Laventille, Cascade, Carenage, Blanchisseuse and Champs Fleur.
18th century revolutions in Grenada and Haiti As well, the French Revolution that began in 1789 would have caused French revolutionary republicans in the British territories to flee to Trinidad for refuge, since the Spanish were neutral in the war.
The population in Trinidad in 1783 was 3000 when the Cedula was proclaimed. By 1797 there were more than 16000 people in the colony of Trinidad: 2,000 whites, 4,500 coloureds, 10,000 slaves and 1,000 Amerindians.
Grenada had some difficult times in the late 18th century. The island was captured by the British on March 4th, 1762, by Commodore Swanton and was formally ceded to Britain by the Treaty of Paris on 10th February, 1763.
In 1766 Grenada experienced a severe earthquake. One year later, in 1767, there was a significant slave uprising. Then in 1771 and 1775, not for the last time, the town of St George was burnt to the ground.
Through all this, the French found the Spice Isle irresistible. And they recaptured Grenada between the 2nd and 4th of July 1779, before Grenada was finally restored to the British with the Treaty of Versailles on the 3rd September, 1783.
Then, to top it all off, in 1795 in Grenada there was the Fedon Rebellion.
The Fedon Rebellion is widely regarded as the second most significant upheaval in the Caribbean after the Haitian Revolution; and, definitely, the most significant and sustained revolutionary effort in the British Caribbean in the 18th century. Although, if you are a CXC history student, you will never know it, since Caribbean examiners have always maintained that the skirmishes in Barbados, Berbice in Guyana and in Jamaica, were more significant.
The Grenada rebellion, led by Julien Fedon, lasted for about 15 months and Grenadians nearly kicked the British out of the island, even before the Haitian revolutionaries defeated the French and established the free and independent Republic of Haiti in 1804.
All these upheavals in Grenada contrived to make more French planters leave with their assets (slaves included). Additional groups of French fled Grenada after the British regained control of the island following Fedon's adventure. ?
Against this background of the migration to Trinidad of large segments of Grenada's French-speaking population white, black and coloured there is no doubt that these Grenadians played a significant role in bringing Carnival to Trinidad. It will be over-zealous to say that they were the only ones. But, I proffer that they were more significant than French Catholics from elsewhere.
Trinidad, from the days of the first inhabitants of Grenada (the Kalinago or Caribs), has always been a natural destination for Grenadians. The Kalinagos and the French Grenadians were followed in the 1900s by more Grenadians who went to Trinidad in droves during the oil boom and the early economic development of the twin-island republic. Some, like Buzz Butler, became famous and extremely influential.
So, in retrospect, it's clear that the migration of French Grenadians in the late 1800s was no accident. It was just the natural thing to do and part of a pattern that can be traced through centuries of people-to-people exchange, Grenada/Trinidad relations, and governmental ties between the two countries.
Remember, the island of Tobago was once administered as a Windward Isle. Indeed, one cannot help but wonder that if the colonial history was a little bit different there might not have been a Trinidad and Tobago, but some other makeup; and Grenada and its Grenadine islands would have been part of that menu. And with that thought, I admit publicly that former Trinidad Prime Minister Patrick Manning was spot on when he articulated a vision of closer political and economic cooperation with the smaller islands like Grenada and St Vincent.
Grenada's role in sustaining T&T's masquerade But, let's get back to the issue of Carnival. Grenada did not just give Trinidad Carnival and left it there.
Grenadians, through sheer inadvertence and migration, played and continue to play a dynamic role in sustaining the Carnival.
The greatest calypsonian of all time Dr Slinger Francisco, Mighty Sparrow was born in the Grenada west coast village of Grand Roy, St John, where you will also find the roots of that famous British race car driver, Lewis Hamilton.
Sparrow still maintains the record (held jointly with Mighty Chalkdust) for capturing the most Calypso Monarch titles in Trinidad and Tobago.
There are other famous Grenada-born calypsonian like the Mighty Bomber who won the Calypso Monarch in 1964 in Trinidad; and Valentino who is referred to as "The People's Calypso Monarch.''
And it doesn't end there. For business savvy and pure genius, the most celebrated calypso and soca entrepreneur the world has ever seen is none other than William Munro, who founded the Kingdom of Wizards calypso tent. Later, he also established Spektakula Forum.
Lord William, as I refer to him, is revolutionary and visionary in his approach to the entertainment business. He has changed the Carnival landscape with what now is arguably the most attractive event of Trinidad's Carnival, the Power Soca Monarch. Lord William was born and bred in the Spice.
Many other popular bards have their roots in the Spice; among them is the great Austin Lyons, Super Blue, the undisputed King of Soca holder of nine Road March titles and seven Soca Monarch crowns.
I have read from some sources that Super Blue was born in La Potrie, St Andrew, Grenada. I cannot confirm the information; but, what is a fact is that both his parents are Grenadians. And his father, Cantay Lyons, was a shopkeeper from La Potrie.
The royal soca dynasty headed by Super continues through his daughter, Fay-Ann Lyons, a second generation Grenadian. Already, she has won three Road March titles and a title each in Soca Monarch and Groovy Soca Monarch.
I will argue that it was the Grenadian blood in her vein that enabled her to become the first female to win the coveted Soca Monarch title. Then there is the famous Roy Cape, leader of what many consider as the greatest backing band in the history of calypso.
Roy Cape is a legend; his monumental contribution to the calypso artform is well-known. He is of Grenadian parentage and he is extremely proud of his roots.
The Queen of Calypso, Macartha Sandy-Lewis, Calypso Rose, the first woman to win both the Road March and Calypso "King'' competitions in Trinidad, claims family ties in Grenada.
Singing Sandra, the only woman to win the Calypso Monarch twice in T&T, celebrates the fact that her mother is from Gouyave, St John, Grenada.
Singing Sandra is the holder of a Grenadian passport. When she performs in Grenada, she will make her pilgrimage to the historic town of Gouyave and let everyone know she is on home-turf.
Machel Montano, popularly regarded as the biggest soca star in the world, in explaining why he is such a quintessential Caribbean man, declared that he spent many of his holidays with his maternal grandmother in Grenada. This is not "pumpkin vine?'' relations.
Like Fay-Ann, Machel is a second generation Grenadian. Ella Andall, Devon Seales, Denise Belfon and Tobago's Eastlyn Orr are all of Grenadian roots.
Moreover, young Grenada-born soca artistes like Tallpree and Mr Killa are still adding a touch of Spice to Trini mas; and Iwer George, Machel and other performers just love the Grenada "Jab Jab'' music and culture.
As captivating as it may be, our Trinidadian cousins are a long way from mastering the unique "Jab Jab'' rhythm and sound. That mastery, it seems, is specially reserved for those of us who have not migrated, at least as yet, to our sister isle of Trinidad.

Lawyer Arley Gill is a magistrate and a former Grenada minister of culture. This commentary was first published in the Grenada newspaper, Caribupdate Weekly. The only point I will agree with in Arnold article is: CAG like most of the Caribbean community have been silent for far too long. I challenged CAG in 2005 to apply for the Caribana day permit and got some excuses. I also challenged them to have events on the weekend, so that CCC would not disappear off the radar., this advise was ignored. Today the name Caribana has been replaced with something the white folks created. They have succeeded after many years of trying to downplay the roots of the festival and its Caribbean heritage.

FYI.

Subject: Check out Grenada Broadcast - George Grant - OPINION PIECE

http://www.grenadabroadcast.com/news/all-news/17308-jiuhdv

Grenada Broadcast - George Grant - OPINION PIECE

Pride Article

Toronto- CBC Investigates

Pride Toronto took $250K federal grant to mark controversial milestone, bolster ties with police

Documents obtained by CBC News show project changed multiple times, money eventually used on past expenses

Nicole Brockbank - CBC News - Posted: Jun 14, 2021 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

Uniformed police officers have been excluded from participating in Toronto's Pride parade since 2017. New documents show Pride Toronto's leaders were poised to drop that ban as they sought federal grant money. (Mark Blinch/The Canadian Press)

Pride Toronto took in $250,000 of federal grant money to commemorate a contentious milestone in Canada's LGBTQ history with hopes of improving relations with police; even though a majority of its membership continued to oppose having uniformed officers march in the country's largest Pride parade, CBC News has learned.

After pushback from the community, the organization and federal officials reworked the contract so some of those taxpayer dollars could instead be spent on programs Pride Toronto ran before the grant was even awarded in 2018. The organization's members, meanwhile, weren't told where the money went, while high-profile projects, including having renowned artist Kent Monkman create paintings honouring the two-spirit community, fell through. "They've kept this a secret and that's a problem," said Tom Hooper, a historian and member of the community who obtained documents outlining the process.

"Who is Pride responsible to, if they're not responsible to me as a member and as a historian of our community?" The revelations raise questions about why Pride Toronto, which barred uniformed police officers from marching in the parade in 2017 following a Black Lives Matter Toronto protest at the previous year's summer event, was willing to compromise its stance on that issue. It also raises questions about why taxpayer money was used to cover prior expenses for programming from a year where the non-profit was facing a nearly $700,000 deficit.
...
Tom Hooper said Pride Toronto's grant application amounts to revisionist history. (Evan Mitsui/CBC) Pride Toronto, which has changed leadership since the deal with the Department of Canadian Heritage was signed, acknowledged to CBC News in an email statement that "communications with members has much more room for improvement."

Finance offered to pay for grant before Pride Toronto applied Access to information records, obtained by Hooper and reviewed by CBC News, show federal Finance officials told Canadian Heritage they would transfer $250,000 to cover costs of the project before Pride Toronto even submitted an application for the grant.

A spokesperson for the Finance Department declined to comment on why it did that. Canadian Heritage awarded Pride Toronto the grant in November 2018. The initial grant was set to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, which decriminalized homosexual acts between men aged 21 and older in 1969.

Pride Toronto's proposal included an opening gala commemorating that anniversary, the development of an educational website, and the creation of a national council made up of police chiefs and LGBTQ community organizations from across Canada to improve relations between the two groups.

A sit-in protest by Black Lives Matter Toronto at the 2016 Pride parade led to the banning of uniformed police officers and their vehicles from the parade. (Mark Blinch/The Canadian Press) The document states Pride Toronto is "particularly targeting police services in celebration," and one of the project's stated goals was to "further better relationships with police services." The grant application framed the anniversary as the decriminalization of homosexuality in Canada, but Hooper said that amounts to revisionist history because police crackdowns on the LGBTQ community continued for years after 1969 most notably the city's bathhouse raids of 1981, where 200 officers raided four gay-friendly establishments and charged 286 men, most of whom were not convicted. WATCH | Footage from 1981 report on the bathhouse raids:

The aftermath of the 1981 bathhouse raids in Toronto 5 years ago 0:33 Archival footage from a bathhouse that was raided by Toronto police in 1981. Lawyer and activist Clayton Ruby denounces the raids. 0:33 "If decriminalization had actually occurred in 1969, we wouldn't have had these massive bathhouse raids in 1981," Hooper told CBC News. "Over 300 men were arrested under the Criminal Code all for being gay." Those bathhouse raids were the context under which Pride Toronto was founded 40 years ago, Hooper said. Pride applies for grant weeks after inviting police back to parade Pride Toronto applied for the grant and received partial funding for the police-inclusive project just weeks after making a controversial decision to invite uniformed officers back to the parade on Oct. 15, 2018.
The decision left the non-profit facing a maelstrom from its membership, and was made at least in part because the board of directors believed "a joint announcement about police participation in the 2019 Pride Parade would facilitate funding," according to the resolution the board passed. Pride Toronto members vote no to allowing police to march in annual parade At the time, Pride Toronto was running a nearly $700,000 deficit, which it planned to partially address by obtaining new grants, according to its 2018 audited financial statement. But by January, Pride Toronto's membership voted to continue to keep uniformed officers out of the parade, sending Pride and Canadian Heritage scrambling to reinvent the project. Pride says police inclusion not a condition of funding In a statement, Pride Toronto told CBC News that police inclusion was not a funding condition in the contribution agreement with Canadian Heritage and no funding was withheld after its members voted to keep uniformed officers out.

After new plans for the project fell through, Pride Toronto told CBC News it received permission to use some of the grant money for expenses from past programming. "We sought permission to change the grant deliverables into significant milestones and campaigns the organization did accomplish in 2018's festival," said Sherwin Modeste, the organization's new executive director. "The granting partners were aware we were asking for these expenses to be covered." That programming included a safety campaign called Until We're Safe, which launched in May 2018, prompted by the arrest of serial killer Bruce McArthur, and an educational campaign exploring that year's Pride theme of 35 Years of AIDS Activism, which rolled out in June months before the grant application was submitted in November.

Until We're Safe was a Pride Toronto community engagement campaign aimed at increasing safety within the LGBTQ community. The website, pictured above, launched in May 2018. (untilweresafe.org) The grant did also fund new initiatives, such as a youth conference, operational adjustments in support of the Indigenous and two-spirit community, and programming to mark the 50th anniversary of New York City's Stonewall riots in 2019. Canadian Heritage told CBC News in a statement that "during the working timeline of this project, Pride Toronto established an advisory group, which determined that the project deliverables needed to be adjusted to fit the relevant concerns of the community." Modeste was not executive director at the time. He was hired for the role in November 2020, nearly a year after the former head of Pride Toronto, Olivia Nuamah, left the organization. In a February 2019 email to Hooper, Nuamah denied the non-profit had received any financial incentives related to the 50th anniversary of decriminalization despite receiving the first $140,000 cheque for the grant in December 2018. When CBC News asked Nuamah about her response to Hooper, she replied via email: "If you have the report, you will see the activity we reported on.

Olivia Nuamah was the executive director of Pride Toronto in November 2018 when the organization applied for the federal grant from Canadian Heritage. She left the non-profit in January 2020. (CBC) When Hooper later found out through an access to information request that Pride Toronto was one of 10 organizations that received a total of $2 million from the federal government to commemorate the anniversary, the historian decided to dig deeper. "It didn't sit well with me," said Hooper. He obtained more than 400 pages of access to information records specifically about the grant project from Canadian Heritage another 300-plus pages were withheld, citing an exemption for confidences of the Queen's Privy Council of Canada, which includes Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet. Following the no-police vote in January 2019, Canadian Heritage scheduled a call with Pride Toronto on Feb. 4 to "discuss the impact of changes and pressures within the organization on the project being funded by the Commemorate Canada Program."

Within two months of that phone call, the focus of the project had changed to creating Indigenous resources and highlighting two-spirit narratives. Pride tells Ottawa it has 'fully executed contract' for artwork As part of this reworked project, Pride Toronto claimed to have contracted Kent Monkman to create "7 works depicting the 2 Spirit community." The "brand new series of paintings" is advertised on a full page of the 2019 Pride Guide, which was published on May 1, 2019. Seven days later in a project update sent to Canadian Heritage, Nuamah wrote the organization had "fully executed the contract with Kent Monkman." But a representative from the Cree artist's studio told CBC News that Monkman had been discussing a project with Pride Toronto, but those talks never reached a contract and they had ended more than a week before Nuamah's report to Canadian Heritage.

Pride Toronto included this ad for a 'brand new series of paintings' from Kent Monkman in its 2019 Pride Guide despite the fact Monkman never signed a contract for the work. (Pride Toronto) Nuamah also writes in the report which was a contractual obligation to receive the next portion of grant funding that the non-profit had reached an agreement with the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) to match funds received by the government for the Monkman project. The AGO said in an emailed statement it had preliminary conversations about the Monkman project, "but no formal commitments were made and for various reasons it did not progress." In an email, Nuamah told CBC News she was just about to finalize a plan with Monkman when the artist went to the AGO directly and proposed a partnership with the gallery to do the work. Pride Toronto launches new safety campaign prompted by alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur Pride Toronto chooses new executive director Nuamah says the report to Canadian Heritage was made as she was trying to figure out how Pride could offer financial support to the AGO to continue the work, but later "it all ended and we all moved on." "This was reported to Canadian Heritage as it happened and we began to look in another direction and then I left Pride Toronto," she said. In its own statement to CBC News for this story, Pride Toronto said funding was not available at the time to provide.

Monkman with the necessary commission fees for the project. After reviewing his access request records, Hooper says he asked Pride Toronto through a letter to the board, and at the annual general meeting in 2020, where the money went, but wasn't provided any information.

Sherwin Modeste took on the role of executive director of Pride Toronto in November 2020 (Submitted by Pride Toronto) Pride Toronto told CBC News since Modeste became executive director he "has prioritized the introduction of many new policies and practices, including transparency in [Pride Toronto's] partnerships and grant procurement." Pride Toronto provided CBC News with a copy of the final report for the Canadian Heritage project. The report confirms that despite the project's title, "Commemorating 50 years of the Criminal Law Amendment Act," none of the grant money was used to mark the anniversary.

Caribbean Camera August 2021 Article

On Fri, Aug 13, 2021 at 2:25 AM Vere Palmer wrote:

I believe the city should bow out and let a group come together to reform and reshape the Caribana festival. No action should be taken to restart the festival, until and unless control is returned to a Caribbean Committee group. All the ingredients that were taken away, over the years should be returned, so that the festival organization don't have to go cap in hand for money from all three levels of government.

I am sure there are some folks who can be called upon to start some dialog now for the 2023 or 2024 opening of the festival. These people may know what those ingredients were that kept the festival operating without government dictatorial behaviour.

Ironically all groups have failed to make Caribana live up to its goals, aspirations and culture, except the early CCC that lifted Caribana from the gutters to its now golden days, which is generating millions for the city, the province and the country.

Any new group should concentrate on what Carnival is all about. It is MAS' and MUSIC. Those who tried to make it a business have failed because they tried to make carnival a business. There can be no year round plan without community involvement and the festival must involve the entire Caribbean community. I have several videos on the site showing carnival in almost all the islands. Jamaica is heavily involved since Byron Lee introduced carnival to Jamaicans. They don't dance to Reggae, Rocksteady or Ska. They are dancing to Soca music. Guyanese and Barbadians are also heavily involved in carnival, although they may have entered the filed much later that most of the other islands.
...
There have to be more bands on the road and the festival must be moved to another route. And there must be an area where the festival ends, so folks don't just dance on stage at CNE and then go home.

My only fear and concern is that it would be a long time before large number of people can get together to dance and listen to entertainers. This virus is not going anywhere soon and that can be a problem for carnival events worldwide.

Roach squares off with Gomez over Caribana

By Colin Rickards Community lawyer and civil rights activist Charles Roach believes that the impasse between the Caribana Arts Group (CAG) and the Festival Management Committee (FMC) has moved to a critical and dangerous stage. Court actions and rhetoric, he says, are taking the place of civilized discussion, and placing the future of the entire Caribana Festival in jeopardy. Roach has prepared a lengthy document entitled The CAG versus the FMC: Charles Roach Speaks Out -- to which Caribbean Camera has had access -- and I have also talked extensively with him over the past few days. He says that it was painful for him to prepare the document, explaining: I am an arts person, who sees himself as a father-figure of this Festival. It was difficult for me to write this expose of the innards of this most important enterprise of our community.

Roach's Festival -- and Roach himself. I owe it to the community to correct misinformation, Roach says. Urged to become Chair of the CCC in October, 2006, Roach says he did so after much deliberation and against the advice of family members, and persuaded Henry Gomez not to resign and to accept the post of Vice Chair. He notes that from the very formation of the FMC in April, 2006, two of CCC board members sat on the FMC -- adding: They were Parker Woods and Henry Gomez.

An Accord was struck with the City which ended on December 31, 2006. From then on the CAG was allowed to appoint members of the FMC, Roach says. Henry Gomez's role as Vice Chair of CAG was to assist me in the recruitment of personnel for the FMC. He approved the appointment of all FMC members except those who were ex officio.

Following the Festival of 2006, the CAG Board selected the following members of the FMC: Dr. Rita Cox, Mr. Hugh Graham, Prof. Arnold Itwaru, Ms Joan Butterfield and Mr. Luther Hansraj. The CAG later appointed Roger Gibbs and approved the appointment of C.J. Augustine and Rick Gosling. These persons along with representatives of the [Toronto Mas Bands Association] TMBA , [Ontario Steelpan Association] OSA and [Organization of Calypso Performing Artistes] OCPA and two delegates of the CAG Board comprised the FMC.

One of these delegates was Henry Gomez. Roach says that the CAG's demonization of Councillor Joe Mihevc -- Toronto City Council's point man for the Caribana Festival -- Joe Halstead, who was the first Chair and Chief Executive Officer of the FMC, and more recently of Roach himself, is uncalled for, unfair and largely untrue. There was a tacit understanding between the FMC and the CAG to maintain separate corporate personas so that creditors would not garnish the income of the FMC, Roach says, adding that the FMC assisted with CCC debts, which at the time amounted to over $250,000.
...
The FMC quietly assisted in financing the operations of the CAG by providing office space and honouring some of its financial obligations, Roach says. Joe Halstead played an important role in helping us erase about $75,000.00 in debt incurred by Caribana House.

The CAG's Board of Directors has brought the present extraordinary lawsuits without a motion from the Membership to do so, Roach says in his document. Yet, in his opinion, court action cannot solve issues between the FMC and the CAG.

The Court Order forbidding the continued use of the trademarked name Caribana forced the FMC to re-name the Summer extravaganza the Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival, while the second CAG lawsuit -- which has not yet made it to court -- seeks $900,000 in damages against the FMC, the Bank of Nova Scotia and Charles Roach.

Roach says that few people seem to know that the CAG has been in control of the FMC from and after 2006. He resigned as Chair of the CAG on March 28, 2009, but remained on the Board. Following the end of my term as CAG Chair at the end of March 2009, relationships with the FMC broke down, he says. I do not understand why the CAG Board under the Chairmanship of Henry Gomez who succeeded me did not continue to appoint FMC members or FMC Chair. Henry Gomez was one of the CCC/CAG delegates on the FMC but he stopped attending meetings.

Roach refers to a meeting in 2010, when Halstead and Chief Financial Officer Eddison Doyle were withdrawing from the FMC, saying: It should be noted that the CAG Board under Henry Gomez approved the appointment of Denise Herrera Jackson and Chris Alexander to succeed Joe Halstead and Eddison Doyle.

Key among the CAG's demands has been that the City of Toronto publicly admit that the Caribana Festival belongs to the Caribbean Community, but Roach says that this has not been an issue since early in 2006. He refers to an Accord drawn up at a meeting at the home of Councillor Mihevc, attended by himself, lawyer Courtney Betty -- representing the FMC -- and the late Dudley Laws of the Black Action Defense Committee. The first paragraph is unequivocal: City of Toronto and The Festival Management Committee (FMC) acknowledge that the annual Caribbean Festival [Caribana] was conceived and developed by the Caribbean Cultural Committee (CCC) and is a valuable, intellectual and artistic property and its ownership is vested in the Caribbean Cultural Committee (CCC).

Subsequently, on June 6, 2006, Mihevc sent a letter -- which I have seen -- to the Board of Directors of the CCC, the first paragraph of which uses almost the same words to acknowledge the CCC's ownership of the Festival.

Roach's document goes on: It is important that the Festival remain in the ultimate control of the community CAG is not representative of the community. CAG has deliberately failed to keep up its Membership. Virtually, it has become a closed organization of just a few members.

What is required, Roach believes, is an organization properly constituted with a large representative membership and adhering to the principle of arms-length Festival management.

IN THE BEGINNING

There were good times! There were bad times! However Caribana survived for 50 plus years

Caribana 67

I played MAS in Whitfield Belasco band in 1967.

The Rise And Fall of Caribana

This is How, When, Where and Why Caribana Started!

CARIBANA 1967 EVENTS

CARIBANA 1968 FESTIVAL

CARIBANA 1969 FESTIVAL

CARIBANA 1970 FESTIVAL

CARIBANA 1971 FESTIVAL

RE: the re-organization of the CCC: 2005 -2006

A MESSAGE FROM CHARLES ROACH, CHAIR, CARIBBEAN CULTURAL COMMITTEE

DEAR CARIBANA MEMBER,

RE: Communication with Colin Rickard 2006

The issues and problems with FMC and CAG

From: Colin Rickards

To: Vere Palmer

On 17/07/2011 11:17 PM, Vere Palmer wrote:

From: Colin Rickards

To: Vere Palmer

Sent: Sun, July 17, 2011 1:25:17 PM

Subject: Re: TMBA to run the festival

Dear Vere:

Article By Pat Sheppard

Caribana

By: Pat Sheppard

From: Polyphony Summer 1984 pp. 135-139

1984 Multicultural History Society of Ontario

Roger Gibbs - CARIBANA Toronto Caribbean Carnival re-imagined

RE IMAGINE

Roger Gibbs

416-484-6914

www.spiritofcalypso.com

TRACING THE ORIGIN OF TRINIDAD'S CARNIVAL TO GRENADA

Early carnival practitioners

FYI.

Subject: Check out Grenada Broadcast - George Grant - OPINION PIECE

http://www.grenadabroadcast.com/news/all-news/17308-jiuhdv

Grenada Broadcast - George Grant - OPINION PIECE

Pride Article

Toronto- CBC Investigates

Pride Toronto took $250K federal grant to mark controversial milestone, bolster ties with police

Caribbean Camera August 2021 Article

On Fri, Aug 13, 2021 at 2:25 AM Vere Palmer wrote:

Roach squares off with Gomez over Caribana

What does the future hold for these children and grand-children of the pioneers who planted the seeds for the Caribana festival, an entity that generates over $400Million for this city, this province and this country.

About US

IN THE BEGINNING

There were good times! There were bad times! However Caribana survived for more than 50 plus years

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