Two committees were setup in 1966 to plan and run the first Caribana festival!
Alban Liverpool chair of the board of governors and Sam Cole chair of the Executive board. Both men were from islands where carnival celebrations was part of their culture.... A year later Liverpool was elected Chairman of a new board under the named "The Caribbean Committee for Cultural Advancement".
I was never able to find out what happened and why Sam Cole name was never mentioned any where after the first year and throughout the life of the festival.
Mayor Forum
Candidates running for the position of Mayor of Toronto attended a forum, where they were asked for plans to support Caribana and the Caribbean community, which generates millions of dollars to the city, the province and the country.
Two speakers concentrated on ideas to support the Black Caribbean businesses that participate in the festival. They realized that money generated from the festival went to the hotels, restaurants, the city and TTC and taxis and the Black Caribbean businesses see little or nothing at all.
One speaker pointed to an idea used by the Gay Parade producers that ensures the event takes place where many Gay businesses are located, so they can earn a living. There are rumors that the Gay parade has a larger audience than Caribana.
Other organizations use the same method to generate funds. An example is the Greek community On Danforth that uses an entire week to generate funds for their businesses located on the Danforth. ...
Some younger folks are placing Caribana in an area that doesn’t fit its origin. Caribana is a Caribbean Cultural entity that has its origin after the abolishing of slavery in the 1700s’ in some Caribbean islands. It was never an African entity although many or all its participants had ancestors who came to the Caribbean as slaves from Africa. The talk, that Caribana was organized to celebrate Emancipation Day is false.
Rob Ford was satisfied with the way FMC was handling the festival and I am sure the city will never return to the involvement of the island associations that started the festival. Today Caribana is not recognized as a Caribbean Cultural dynasty. So sad! I am seeing signs where the Black Caribbean Community will lose total control of the festival. All other ethnic groups will retain their name and link to their culture, but the Caribbean Community will see theirs disappear.
Colin Rickards
To:pvpalmer@yahoo.com Wed., Dec. 30, 2009 at 1:35 a.m.
Dear Vere:
You say: I see this hand-off as a dangerous practice, which could move this festival further away from the community that started it, and to whom it belongs. Probably, but, then, who -- in the community – could run it, as things currently are? I'm not at all sure what you mean by a hand-off in the changing of the FMC Guard?
An advertisement was put out in the community newspapers, applicants applied, a four-person selection committee did the interviews. ...Somebody came out on top. What more can one ask? I really don’t think it was other than transparent. Anyone could have applied, and would have been seen. I do hear that one out-of-town person, on being told she didn’t get the CEO job, has started a campaign calling for a review, and demanding: “How could they turn down someone like me?” Had there simply been a direct appointment without any transparency, I would have been the first to shout.
I actually happen know one of those who applied for the General Manager, Operations post. (Didn’t get it, and I wasn’t really surprised, as the Carnival Arts strengths are elsewhere). I got no grumbles from the candidate about the way the two interviews were conducted.
My own feeling is that Denise Herrera Jackson will make a good job of it. She is corporate connected, a good administrator, and also has a solid track record of community activity. She Also a Trini! (By the by, there was a mistake in my Column, as she was not a member of the FMC Advisory Board. She was a member of the Board which put together the Souvenir Magazine, a totally different matter.) Of course you are correct in that profit, or at least self-sufficiency is not attempted, but isn’t that what the CCC was always charged with ignoring?
Your other point – over a long period – that Caribana should not be dependent on government hand-outs is also correct. Yet previous Boards abandoned fundraising events, and profit-producing ones (like the Ball, a victim of political correctness) altogether.
Were the CAG a real organization, they might have something to say. I don’t think Henry is even in the country.
Colin
We lost Caribana
Saturday, May 22, 2021, 10:26:36 p.m. EDT, Vere Palmer wrote:
This is one of the reasons why Caribana failed: Some folks believed the carnival culture and calypso music belonged to one island and was not the culture of other Caribbean islands......
They probably didn't know that the folks who started this event were from several other islands which shows carnival was also part of their culture. Byron Lee and the Dragonaires was the entertainment band from the early years and it was from Jamaica. On the road we danced to calypso music and on the island we danced to “SKA, Rock Steady” and later to Reggae. Byron Lee and the Dragonaires played music for the Americans as well as music for calypso folks and Reggae dancers. It was a very versatile band with its music delivery.
...
I may be wrong but I believe a problem that once haunted the T&T carnival was: T&T blacks believe the culture belongs to descendants from slavery, so people whose fore-parents were not slaves were usurpers. There was slavery in all the Caribbean islands and South America and carnival was also part of their culture. Brazil had the most famous carnival celebration and was known worldwide. Carnival was copied by several Asian countries who also copied the Brazil dance moves.
It was in the 80s that Byron Lee was removed from the CCC entertainment package and bands from T&T were added. And of course things started going downhill then. The new bands
from T&T were not able to draw the large crowds Byron Lee did for several years. In the 1990 there were over 8 music bands from T&T who came to Toronto and wanted jobs. The entertainment budget moved from $79k in 1994 to $179K after I was replaced as the manager of entertainment
The CCC board didn't like my idea of hiring more local musicians and entertainers. I replaced Selwyn Joseph as MC for Kiddies carnival with a young girl who did a fantastic job. Selwyn held that position for several years and I changed it, to expose the youths to Kiddies carnival. I knew Selwyn very well, but I had to make the change.
Later when new boards were voted into power, greed and corruption came along with them.
No one is actually addressing Roger's ideas to point out some corrections or faults, so they can come up with better ideas. Being critical is not the right answer for dialogs to move things forward.
I still have the answer he sent me in response to my article on FMC. I don’t have to remind him of his error then. He has finally seen the light and it’s time we use his new vision to help the 2024 festival organizers.
Hits to Caribana.ca Website
These are stats of hits to the first Caribana Official Website (caribana.ca) in 2003- 2005.People from more than 100 countries world-wide visited the site as soon as it became available online. Visitors from China outnumbered those from other countries, even the US where a large number of Caribbean people resided and had a similar festival.
...
People from more than 100 countries world-wide visited the site as soon as it became available online. Visitors from China outnumbered those from other countries, even the US where a large number of Caribbean people resided and had a similar festival.The Chinese interest in the site could have been the reasons Caribana was invited to participate in Hong Kong festival celebrations.
There are several videos of carnival parades in many Asian countries where the masqueraders are using the Brazilian dancing techniques. Many other Asian countries are also heavily involved in pan. Many businesses from China are sending information on businesses they operate and are looking for customers.
Excerpts from several writers about the demise of the steel pan (Panorama)
1. The demise of Panorama globally is due to reduce funding or no funding at all.
2. Bands should be able to cover a musical repertoire of enough tunes to compete with the DJ's....
3. Panorama has taken the pan out of Carnival.
4. Panorama has grown to the point where it can sustain itself without Carnival.
5. Masqueraders would support the steelbands if they were confident that they would provide a variety of music to keep them jumping.
6. A Panorama festival at a different time of year should be a guaranteed success, and would allow the steelbands to devote their energies to participating fully in the carnival.
7. Bands could even compete with the DJ's by giving them a taste of their own medicine. Have their own powerful DJ systems.
8. St. Vincent 2010 Panorama attracted more pan players than audience.
9. In Grenada and St. Lucia there were no Panorama in 2010.
10. The pan is older than the modern synthesizer, the cell phone, rap music, reggae, the iPod, iPad and iPhone to name a few. The connection is simply marketing - the ability to make people connect with a product.
11. The demise of pan rest in the hands of todays’ youth. They are the ones to carry on the tradition. Hence there must be a plan to get them involve in music and playing the steel pan.
12. Is it possible to have pan events throughout the year to keep the interest and love of music alive?
