Caribana

Caribana began in 1967, organized by members of Toronto's Caribbean community as a contribution to Canada's centennial celebrations, drawing on Trinidad's Carnival traditions of costumed masquerade bands, calypso and soca music, and a large parade. What started as a one-off centennial event proved popular enough to become an annual fixture, growing over the following decades into one of the largest Caribbean carnival celebrations outside the Caribbean itself, drawing performers and visitors from across North America and the Caribbean diaspora.

A parade and an economic engine

The festival's centrepiece remains its costumed parade along the city's lakeshore, featuring elaborately feathered and beaded costumes built by masquerade bands that spend months preparing each year's designs. Now operating under the name the Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival Toronto, the festival draws a reported over a million visitors annually and represents a significant economic contribution to the city, alongside its role as one of the most visible public expressions of Toronto's Caribbean community.

Sources

• The Canadian Encyclopedia — Caribana
• Wikipedia — Toronto Caribbean Carnival

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