Scotiabank Extends its Title Sponsorship of Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival for three years

The 46^th Annual Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival returns with improvements to the Grand Parade route and an expanded list of events

Images from the May 21st Media Launch for the Carnival
Top - Pooja Handa CP 24
left - singer Dan Hill
right MPP Laura Albanese

May 28, 2013  (Toronto) The Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival kicked off today with music and dancing at the Ontario Science Centre.  MPP Laura Albanese, (York South-Weston) Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport helped unveil the Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival 2013 campaign this morning. 

The Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival will run from July 9, 2013 to August 4, 2013, and once again bring the culture of the Caribbean to over a million spectators in downtown Toronto. The public launch will take place on July 9, 2013 at 12:00 p.m. at Toronto's Nathan Phillip's Square, where dancers, musicians, and calypso singers will get the city into the Carnival spirit.

"The funding from our sponsors means that the Festival can continue to deliver new and exciting events again this year,” said Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival CEO Denise Herrera-Jackson.  “We are changing how the big parade will be run due to the construction on the CNE grounds which will give more opportunities for spectators inside the park grounds to see our colourful parade.  Once again, funds raised at our events will be donated to four community charities – The Children's Breakfast Club, The Caribbean Children's Foundation, Prostate Cancer Canada and Sickle Cell Awareness Group of Ontario.”

“In 2008, we became title sponsor of the Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival -- the largest North American Caribbean festival of its kind.  I’m proud to say that once again, Scotiabank has extended our partnership for another three years,” said Christine Williams, Scotiabank Vice President, Toronto East District. “This partnership started an exciting new chapter for Scotiabank because the Caribbean is where the Bank’s international story began.”

“For the fourth year, we are happy to sponsor the Ontario Science Centre Innovative Costume Award which recognizes innovation in costume design,” said Lesley Lewis, CEO of the Ontario Science Centre. “There’s a foundation of science behind the beauty and creativity of each and every costume. From the mathematics involved in the design, the physics involved in how the costumes move to the mechanics and engineering involved in the structural integrity for the larger, more elaborate pieces.”

The Toronto waterfront Carnival parade, taking place on August 3rd, is expected to draw over a million people down to Toronto’s CNE grounds. This year the staging area for the 16,000 costumed masqueraders and floats is being moved to the north-end of the CNE property.  The parade will travel the width of the CNE grounds before entering Lakeshore Blvd, giving the festival more space to accommodate spectators.

Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival events include:

• Junior Carnival Parade - July 20, 2013: The first big event, the Junior Carnival Parade, will take place at Downsview Park. In 2012, over 2,500 children performed for the judges and played Mas along the streets of the Downsview Park. Chevrolet supports the Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival Junior Carnival Parade.
• Festival Cup Match - July 20, 2013:  Sport fans will want to watch the Canadian Rugby League take on the Jamaica Rugby League at Lamport Stadium. This is the third year for the Festival match – the Canadian team remains undefeated. Game starts at 7:00 p.m.
• NEW FREE EVENT: The Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival Summertime BBQ JULY 25,  2013: Food, Soca music, costumes, and Moko Jumbies at the Eglinton Square Shopping Centre (Eglinton East / Victoria Park).
• The Annual Gala - July 26, 2013: The Annual Gala, a formal wear party to honour the rich history of the festival and to sample the Caribbean arts, will take place at the Liberty Grand Ballroom on the CNE grounds.
• Monarch Contest - July 28, 2013 Ontario’s best Calypso performers compete to see who will wear the crown as this country’s top Calypso singer. Evening competition to be held at the Chinese Cultural Centre’s P C Ho Theatre in Scarborough.
• The King and Queen Contest - August 1, 2013: This nighttime event showcases the elaborate costumes, which will be worn by the Kings and Queens in the Grand Parade. Due to overwhelming demand, the seating for Lamport Stadium is being increased to accommodate spectators at this year’s King And Queen competition.
• Pan Alive - August 2, 2013: Pan Alive is the largest outdoor steel pan orchestra competition in North America.  Over a dozen orchestras from Ontario and Quebec will compete in an evening battle of the bands at Lamport Stadium.
• THE GRAND PARADE - August 3, 2013: Exhibition Place & Lakeshore Blvd. 10am – 6pm. Rain or Shine!
• Beyond Lime August 4, 2013: Music. Food. Performances. Traditional end to the Caribbean festival.

About Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival

The Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival is an exciting three-week cultural explosion of Caribbean music, cuisine, and revelry as well as visual and performing arts. Now in its 46th year, it has become a major international event and the largest cultural festival of its kind in North America. As Carnival is an international cultural phenomenon, the great metropolis of Toronto and its environs will come alive as the city explodes with the pulsating rhythms and melodies of Calypso, Soca, Reggae, Chutney, Steel Pan and Brass Bands. The Festival Management Committee oversees the running of North America's largest outdoor festival.

Corporate sponsors of this year's festival include: Scotiabank, Chevrolet, The Toronto Star, CTV, CP-24, FLOW fm, The Canadian Federal Government, The Province of Ontario, City of Toronto, Tourism Toronto, The Greater Toronto Airports Authority, the Ontario Science Centre, Toronto Public Library, Eglinton Square Mall, and the Liberty Grand.

About Scotiabank

Scotiabank is committed to supporting the communities in which we live and work, both in Canada and abroad, through our global philanthropic program, Scotiabank Bright Future.  Recognized as a leader internationally and among Canadian corporations for our charitable donations and philanthropic activities, Scotiabank has provided on average approximately $47 million annually to community causes around the world over each of the last five years. Visit us at www.scotiabank.com.

For more information about the programmes and events, please visit the festival's official website at www.torontocaribbeancarnival.com. The Festival Office is located at 19 Waterman Avenue. Contact info: Tel: 416-391-5608;

Email: info@torontocaribbeancarnival.com.

For media inquires:

Stephen Weir

Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival Publicist

Phone 416-489-5868

Cell: 416-801-3101

Email: Stephen@stephenweir.com

Sheena Findlay

Scotiabank

Cell: 647-628-3501

Email: Sheena.findlay@scotiabank.com

Festival CEO Denise Herrera Jackson to MC Toronto Symposium

Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival Toronto Media Update

ROM Carnival Symposium - Exploring the Cultural Identity of Mas- this Saturday. Mas movie - Sunday

This Saturday, February 22^nd, Denise Herrera Jackson, the Chief Executive Officer of the Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival Toronto festival will be the MC of the Royal Ontario Museum's Symposium which will examine the historical and creative facets of Carnival. Keynote speaker at the daylong event is Trinidad's Brian Mac Farlane, a Mas costume designer who has won the title, the Carnival King of the World.

Carnival originated in Trinidad, and is celebrated throughout the Caribbean, in North and South America,  Australia, Africa and England. Toronto's festival attracts over a million spectators a year, making it the largest such event in the world. In Toronto, as with all other Carnivals, participants wear elaborate costumes decorated with feathers and sequins. Carnival Masquerade (Mas) bands are organized groups made up of participants who wear costumes fashioned by a designer and assembled by teams of volunteers. The costumed participants dance through the streets to the sounds of Soca music - this is called "playing mas'".

Denise Herrera Jackson

The Royal Ontario Museum's daylong symposium about Carnival is free with admission to the gallery.  It runs from 10:30 to 4:30 on Saturday February 23rd and will look at how Carnival has become a cultural celebration of global proportions that takes up new relevance and meaning in the various contexts where it manifests itself.  There will be eight speakers at the conference, including: Carnival researcher Lyndon Phillip, York University Caribbean Studies Professor, Gena Chang Campbell and Toronto Mas band leader (Carnival Revolution) Osei Brand. 

Mr. Mac Farlane will also be at the ROM on Sunday February 23^rd  for the screening of The Insatiable Season a movie about Mr. Mac Farlane and the 2006 Trinidad carnival.  Mr. Mac Farlane will discuss the film following the 1 p.m screening.

 
55-year old Brian Mac Farlane has been designing carnival costumes and floats since he was 15. During the 1990s, Mac Farlane’s many accolades and awards as a carnival designer included: South King of Carnival for Prisma Man of Colour (1993), National King of Carnival and Best Designer for The Conquest (1994), the latter of which would go on to win Carnival King of the World, at the first ever International King and Queen of Carnival Competition. Mac Farlane’s creations beat out participants from 38 other countries.

Mac Farlane has won Trinidad's Large Band of the Year Downtown title for the past seven years and the Large Band of the Year Uptown title for the last six years. He has also designed for international carnivals, winning Band of the Year in Australia and Canada. In 2010, Mac Farlane was awarded Trinidad and Tobago’s prestigious National Chaconia Medal Gold for Carnival Arts and Culture.  For the Opening Ceremonies of the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games, Mac Farlane was commissioned to design costumes for one of their twelve cultural performances. Some 2500 performers paraded these costumes.

Both the symposium and the film screening will take place in the Royal Ontario Museum's Signy and Cléophée Eaton Theatre.  The ROM is located at the corner of Bloor Street  and Avenue Road in downtown Toronto.  The programmes are free with admission to the Museum, attendees are asked to RSVP at: 416.586.5797 or by emailing programs@rom.on.ca.

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Media wishing to cover the weekend events must contact the Royal Ontario Museum PR department at Media 416.586.5744 or by emailing media@rom.on.ca

Junior Carnival Parade kicked-off at Yorkgate Mall - Jane Fnch.

Major change for the location of the review stand
The Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival
2011 Junior Carnival Parade
Set to roll down Jane St. Saturday, July 16th

Toronto, ON: 05.07.2011: The volunteer organizers of the 2011 Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival/Yorkgate Mall Junior Carnival Parade are expecting a large auidence at this year’s parade, so much so that a major change has been made in the set-up of the annual event. This year, the judges’ review stand will be midpoint in the route, along Jane Street, allowing more spectators and parents to see the children perform before the judges.
For the past 10-years the bands have been judged at the start of the parade along Shoreham Drive (Black Creek Pioneer Village). The parade will still start on Shoreham Drive but the review stand will be about half way along the route which travels from Shoreham to Jane, ending in the parking lot of the Yorkgate Mall (Jane & Finch).
”We are expecting close to 2,000 children this year,” explained organizer Greta Best. On Shoreham Road there isn’t the room to accommodate all the spectators. By moving the reviewing stand to Jane Street literally thousands and thousand of people can see the kiddies performing their routines in front of the judges.”
The TTC will be operating a special bus service during the Saturday Parade which will drops passengers off on Jane St. within site of the review stand. The 108 Downsview Bus will be short-turning at Jane throughout the parade.
Traditionally held two Saturdays before the main Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival parade, the Junior Carnival Parade sponsored by Yorkgate Mall is highly anticipated by young Carnival masqueraders.
Also referred to as Kiddies Carnival, it comprises masqueraders (or mas) players/dancers who range in age from toddlers to teens; many of whom go on to play in the main Caribana parade when they become adults. And just with adult bands, each junior band must portray a theme suitable of the Carnival masquerade tradition. Competition titles up for grabs include: Junior Band of the Year; Jr. King of the Bands; Jr. Queen of the Bands; Jr. Male Individual of the Year; and Jr. Female Individual of the Year. The afore-mentioned costumes are more elaborate than those of the average band members, and most often, are built through volunteer efforts with the involvement of its actual young portrayer.
“The TTC will be oncea again offering bus service up to the middle of the parade route on Jane St. ,” says Greta Best, Event Manager of the Junior Carnival Committee, “to help spectators get up to see the parade and cheer the children on. But other than that, it will be the same wonderful parade it is every year. It really is a great opportunity for the younger set to enjoy their Carnival. The opening ceremony is at 10.45am, with the parade starting at 11am sharp. So we encourage everyone to come early so as to get a good spot along Jane Street see the mas.”
Children are asked to join their respective band at 9am in the assembly area located on Shoreham Drive off Jane, just south of Black Creek Pioneer Village. The parade will travel west on Shoreham Drive, past the judging point at 31 Shoreham Drive (in front of Shoreham Public School). The parade then turns south onto Jane Street where it will travel until Yorkgate Blvd. It will turn west on Yorkgate Blvd and travel south ending at Hullmar Drive. Once the parade is over, there will be entertainment, DJ music, food vendors, steelpan music and a market place in Yorkgate Mall’s car park.

Each band has three (3) marshals per twenty (20) masqueraders to ensure an orderly progress and good conduct along the parade route. A panel of five volunteer judges will adjudicate all bands using the following criteria: Visual impact (max. 20 marks); Authenticity (10); Creativity (20); Mas on the Move (10); Clarity of Theme (10); Presentation (20); and Craftsmanship (10) for a total of 100 marks. The order of merit is determined by discarding the highest and lowest score per participant. The judges’ decision is final, and is announced at the end of the parade.
Organizers of the event predict that there will be close to 2,000 children on the parade route. Parents wanting to get their children involved in the party should visit the festival website to find the address and phone number of a mas camp. Children register with the band and purchase a costume for the parade. Children don’t have to belong to any special club or culture to join in the fun. All are welcome.
The parade ends at the Yorkgate Mall (at the intersection of Jane St and Finch Avenue). Here the children will enjoy lunch, take in live entertainment and await the results from the parade. As well, the finalists of the Yorkgate Idol contest will be performing and the winner will be announced at the Junior Carnival post parade party.
The Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival is an exciting three-week cultural explosion of Caribbean music, cuisine, revelry as well as visual and performing arts. Now in its 44th year, it has become a major international event and the largest cultural festival of its kind in North America. As Carnival is an international cultural phenomenon, the great metropolis of Toronto and its environs will come alive as the city explodes with the pulsating rhythms and melodies of Calypso, Soca, Reggae, Chutney, Steel Pan and Brass Bands. The Festival Management Committee oversees the running of the outdoor festival.
Corporate sponsors of this year’s festival include: Scotiabank, The Toronto Star, Sway Magazine, CTV, CP-24, The Canadian Federal Government, The Province of Ontario, the City of Toronto, Tourism Toronto,, The Greater Toronto Airports Authority, Ontario Place, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Ontario Science Centre, The Toronto Libraries, Yorkgate Mall, Liberty Grand, FLOW fm, Urbanology Magazine, The Caribbean Camera Newspaper, Toronto-Lime.Com, and Grace Kennedy Foods.
This year, the Official Launch for the Festival will take place at Noon on Tuesday July 12 at Nathan Phillips Square in downtown Toronto. The main parade will be staged on Saturday, July 30, 2011; 10:00 am - 6:00 pm.
For complete listing information, visit www.torontocaribbeancarnival.com, the only official website for the Festival. Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival Festival Office is located at 263 Davenport Avenue. Lower Level, Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Tel., 416-391-5608; Fax, 416-391-5693; Email: info@caribanafestival.com
For further information, contact: Stephen Weir, Stephen Weir & Associates stephen@stephenweir.com416-489-5868; 416-801-3101

PICTURE INFORMATION): TOP Two types of head gear at the launch of the Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival. Three children from the Tru DYNASTY Mas Camp are wearing feathers while in back, PC Jen Francis wears a regulation Metro Toronto Police bike helmet. She works out of Division 31. Photo by George Socka.
MIDDLE: Scotiabank VP Christine Williams spoke at the Tuesday press conference. Photo George Socka

BOTTOM: Denise Herrera-Jackson, Festival CEO, also spoke at the press conference. Photograph by George Socka