Canada's largest outdoor event announces its 2012 calendar - July and August - Jump Up Time

2012 List of Events – Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival – Our City’s best summer festival – July 16 to August 12, 2012
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The Festival Management Committee presents Toronto’s biggest summer Carnival and festival – from July 16 to August 2, 2012 with:

·       Living Art through the presentation of stunning costumes known popularly as Mas’ at the Junior Carnival for kids age  2 to 16 years and Marquee Lakeshore Boulevard parades in a cosmopolitan Toronto.

·       Performance Art capturing the original music in its diverse forms - soca, calypso, pan, and chutney music to animate the masqueraders and propel their dance steps as well as spectators.

·       Ritualism motivating millions of visitors that have continued to make the city of Toronto the destination of choice for an absolute stunning Carnival event.

Our festival takes place at various locations in Toronto engaging many sectors of our city and citizens.  This year we are offering improvements to the traditional events.

Junior Carnival Official launch – July 16. It’s all about the kids. This year, the event would be moved to a new location. Downsview Park.

Festival Official Launch – July 10:  It’s the event that attracts wide media coverage especially by our media sponsors – television, radio, print media, and social media. It presents a snapshot of what’s on for the Festival.

GTAA Launch – July 20. It’s another year for the Greater Toronto Airport Authority partnership with the Festival Management Committee to promote the festival at the gateway to the City of Toronto with Caribbean entertainment and tastings.

Citizenship Ceremony – TBD  Witness new Canadians being sworn in as citizens of Canada within a welcoming flavour of the Toronto Caribbean Carnival and Festival.

Location:  North York Civic Centre

Carnival Art – July 29 to August 12 – A unique display of Carnival costumes and the history of the festival featuring photography capturing Carnival around the city and also featuring the pioneers of the festival with the recollection of the festival over the years..

Media Conference at the Royal Ontario Museum - July 12

Junior Carnival – July 21. The kid’s version of the Marquee parade attracting over 30,000 spectator visitors comprising families and featuring 2,000 mini masquerades, some as young as two years taking place close to one the city’s priority neighbourhood with partners such as 31 & 32 Division of the Metropolitan Police. This year the festival would be at the Downsview Park.

Trudeau at the CTV 2011 BB-Que

CTV/CP24 BBQ – July TBD – It was so successful the last two years that they’ve decided to do it again – an outdoor BBQ from Queen Street to Richmond Street that celebrates the festival with costumes, music, and of course, delicious food.

Annual Gala– July 27. An elegant evening at the Liberty Grand that showcases masquerade models, music, dancing, exotic food, and signature drinks – sensational sights, sounds, and tastes. Attended by sponsors, donors, and partners, this event attracts the well-heeled clientele who bid on exciting prizes to support an identified cause.

Location: Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex located on the waterfront - the epitome of luxury and elegance.

The Calypso Tent Music Series (CTMS) – The Calypso Tent Music Series (CTMS) will run for 5 weeks on weekends beginning 
June 9th and ending July 8th.

Location:  TBD

Kaiso 365 - Calypso Monarch Finals – July 23

After weeks of performances, calypsonians that have made the final cut will compete for the crown!!! Finalists compete for Canada's top Calypso prize. Humour, double entendre and wit, lyrics range from personal to political, social commentary to celebration.

Location:  TBD

Calypso STARS Showcase – August 1

Gareth Burgess, Carnival Arts characters: Moko Jumbies (Swizzlestick Theatre), interactive Sailor Dancers (Hummingbird Dance Co.), and the Midnight Robber (Afro-Caribbean Dance Co.), Ossie Gurley & Calypso All Stars.

Location:  Harbourfront Centre.

King and Queen Competition and Show – August 2.  A spectacular display of the talent and artistic skill of the designers and costume builders of the King, Queen, male and female individual costumes paraded in front of a captivated audience. These masqueraders compete in costumes that weigh two to three times their body weight.

Location: Allan Lamport Stadium – capacity 6000 spectators.

Pan Alive – TBD. This event showcases the talent of steel pan performers ranging in age from early teens to adults as they perform their original renditions to the aficionados and judges at the Allan Lamport Stadium.  We are planning to move the event to a full day event as opposed to an evening event.

Location: Allan Lamport Stadium

Grand Parade – August 4. This is the marquee parade that is the showcase of the Festival.  After months of preparation, masqueraders in colourful and striking costumes and steel pan bands wind their way from the assembly area at Exhibition Place along a 3.5 kilometre stretch on Lakeshore Boulevard.  This performance of bejewelled masqueraders continues to draw millions from all over the world to see the live performing street art year after year. With opportunities for VIP seating in designated, controlled areas which will include upgraded seating, tents, and marketplace.

Location: Exhibition Place, Ontario Place, Lakeshore Boulevard.  .

Tropical Rhythm Food Festival – Islands Come to the Islands at Ontario Place – August 5 and August 6. Continuing the tropical Caribbean ambience of the festival, cool down on the south beach at Ontario Place or have fun in the park while enjoying ‘de lime’ with food, music, dance, and an array of fun activities for two days. Be up close and personal with the Bahamian Jankanoo band, ShortKnee performers from Grenada and the Rhyming chef who combines his unique talent of cooking and rhyming – the best way to end the long weekend. Enjoy the Tropical food festival and island hop to tasty, spicy morsels of Caribbean islands.

Location – Ontario Place, a cultural and entertainment park within easy reach of the city.

Canada Rugby League – TBD. A new event featuring fans of rugby league is adding the sporting dimension to the festival. “Governed by the Rugby League International Federation, the sport is officially played in 57 countries across the world. Most popular in England, Australia, New Zealand and across the Pacific, the largest professional associations are the National Rugby League and the European Super League, with a combined fan base of over 100 million”. The event in Toronto will feature a matchup between the Jamaican international team and Canada for the first annual Toronto Caribbean Carnival Cup) and include a concert featuring artistes from Jamaica. 

Location: TBD: 

Issued By:

Stephen Weir
Festival Publicist| stephen@stephenweir.com
or sweir5492@rogers.com
2482 Yonge Street, Unit 45032, Toronto, ONT.
CANADA. M4P 3E3
Tel: 416-489-5868 | Cell: 416-801-3101
www.stephenweir.com

NEW PARTNER ANNOUNCED AT FESTIVAL PRESS CONFERENCE

Caribbean Tourism Organization
INTRODUCING THE FESTIVAL’S NEWEST PARTNER

TORONTO, May 25, 2011 – The Festival Management Committee (FMC) today announced its newest corporate partner. The Caribbean Tourism Organization will be partnering with the Carnival this summer.
The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), the global voice for 33 Caribbean countries, is proud to partner with the Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival. The goal of the Caribbean Tourism Organization is to showcase the wide variety of Caribbean cultures here in Toronto and encourage Canadians to visit and experience the warmth of Caribbean hospitality the next time they travel abroad.
This new partnership will include a Caribbean Village as part of the award winning Grace Tropical Rhythms food festival at Ontario Place over the Simcoe Weekend. These Caribbean themed installations are aimed at educating Canadians about authentic Caribbean culture and traditions.

About the Festival:

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 is responsible for the managing and staging of North America’s largest outdoor festival.
Corporate sponsors of this year's festival include: Scotiabank, The Toronto Star, Sway Magazine, The Grid, CTV, CP24, The Federal Government of Canada, The Province of Ontario, The City of Toronto, Tourism Toronto, , The Greater Toronto Airports Authority, Ontario Place, Royal Ontario Museum, Ontario Science Centre, Toronto Public Libraries, Yorkgate Mall, Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex & Liberty Entertainment Group, The Caribbean Camera Newspaper, Toronto-Lime.Com, and GraceKennedy (Ontario) Inc.
For more information about the programs and events, please visit the festival’s official website at www.torontocaribbeancarnival.com The Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival Office is located at 263 Davenport Avenue, Lower Level; Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5R 1E9. For information about the Caribbean Tourism Organization, visit www.caribbeantravel.com.
Contact info: Tel: 416-391-5608; Fax: 416-391-5693; Email: stephen@stephenweir.com

CUTLINE: Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival CEO Denise Herrara-Jackson announces the festival's new partner - The Caribbean Tourism Organization

A nation of photographers and a nation of models

DYING TO BE IN THE PICTURE

Canadian master photographer Ed Burtynsky got it half right while speaking at a Contact Photography Festival event when he told the media that Canada has become a nation of photographers. Cell Phone cameras. Cheap high def video cams. The explosive rise of the digital camera. Twitter Vids. You Tubes. Facebook. Canadians are documentary every aspect of life in this country.
Burtynsky, a Ryerson Polytechnical Institute grad, is world famous for his landscape photographs, so he should be excused for not mentioning the other half of the equation. Canadian has become a nation of models!
For every person who carries a camera to a public event, there is an equal or greater number of people willing and waiting to poise for that Kodak Moment. During Scotiabank Caribana 2010, 600 media, most of them videographers and photographers, registered to be on the parade route.
While the parade marshals find the photographers annoying in the least and downright disruptive in the pejorative, the barely clad dancers didn't mind stopping the parade to constantly pose for pictures. Within days of the Parade over 3,300 YouTube videos (marked Caribana) had been posted and 24,000 pictures (marked Caribana) posted on Flickr. And Facebook? 100,000 jpgs and counting.
It is not just events where body beautiful rules. On Saturday October 23rd my photographer son Andrew and myself took our cameras to Trinity Bellwood Park where 6,000 peoples drenched themselves in fake blood and shuffled through the park and into the streets of Toronto in the annual Zombie Walk.
There were hundreds and hundreds of photographers following the moaning, stumbling rag tag parade. The zombies had worked hard on their make-up and wanted to be photographed. Ever had a corpse ask you to take her picture? I have.
The Zombie Walk has no sponsors (save beyond a Henry's Camera portrait booth), and no actual raison d'etre. But because of the growing Yin and the Yang between people's need to be seen and people's need to be camera carrying voyeurs there is no stomping on Toronto's undead parade.
CUTLINES
Top - Complete stranger asks Zombies to deadpan it for his camera. (But he still told them to say "Cheese")
Bottom - Andrew Weir's picture of the Zombie Parade - Trinity Bellwood Park.

2010 CALYPSO COMPETITION RESULTS

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Organization of Calypso Performing Artistes (OCPA)
“KAISO 365” Calypso Monarch Finals

Toronto, ON, Canada: The Organization of Calypso Performing Artistes (OCPA) hosted its 2010 “KAISO 365” Calypso Monarch Finals at The Imperial Oil Auditorium, Ontario Science Centre on Saturday, July 24th, 2010. This sold out event saw nine calypsonians compete for the title of OCPA’s 2010 Calypso Monarch.

A panel of qualified, volunteer judges awarded points based on the following criteria: Lyrics (max. 35 points); Melody (20); Rendition (25); Presentation (10); and Originality (10) for a total of 100 points. The order of merit was determined by discarding the highest and the lowest score per contestant. 2010 OCPA Head Judge: Lennox Borel.

The above judging criteria was used for OCPA’s Preliminary, and Final competition(s). The judges’ decision is final, and the Monarch results were announced at the end of the July 24th show. They are as follows:

2010 OPCA Kaiso 365 - Calypso Monarch Results

RANK - NAME (STAGE NAME - SOBRIQUET) - HERITAGE
1st Eulith Tara Woods (MACOMERE FIFI) - Tobagonian-Canadian
2nd Michael Thomas (REDMAN) - Grenadian-Canadian (2009 defending champ)
3rd Bryan Thornhill (STRUCTURE) - Barbadian-Canadian
4th Hamilton Alexander (The WEB) - Trinidadian-Canadian
5th Smokey Burke (SMOKEY) - Barbadian-Canadian
6th Guney Cedeno (GUNEY) - Trinidadian-Canadian
7th Zunaki Tuitt (NAKI) - Trinidadian-Canadian
8th Leslie Carrabon (DeCARRA) - Trinidadian-Canadian
9th Trevor Quammie (PENSHIONER) - Trinidadian-Canadian

In addition to a cash prize of over $5000, Eulith Tara Woods (Macomere Fifi) will receive a trip to London , England for its Notting Hill Carnival, and a trip to Atlanta for its 2011 Georgia Caribbean Carnival.

The 2010 OCPA Kaiso 365 Canadian Calypso Monarch Finals was carried live-to-air on Saturday, July 24th, 2010 on radio locally and worldwide via CHRY 105.5FM (www.chry.fm). Special guest performances were had from Young Rashida, and Akima Paul – 2009 London Calypso Monarch.

Nine other annual, special awards were also announced on Saturday, July 24th, 2010. They included:

BEST LYRICS
“Your Turn to Die” – Winston Maingot and Carlyle Bailey

BEST MELODY
“Your Turn to Die” – Winston Maingot

BEST PRESENTATION
Eulith Tara Woods (Macomere Fifi) for the song “Haiti Will Rise Again”

BEST VOCAL RENDITION
Eulith Tara Woods (Macomere Fifi) for the song “Your Turn to Die”

MOST ORIGINAL CALYPSO
“ Haiti Will Rise Again” – Lyrics by Winston Maingot and Carlyle Bailey; Melody by Winston
Maingot; Sung by Eulith Tara Woods (Macomere Fifi)

BEST COMPOSITION ON A LOCAL TOPIC
“We Watching You” – Lyrics by Bryan Thornhill

MOST HUMOUROUS CALYPSO
“It Ain’t Right” – Lyrics by Kenny Quammie; Melody by Mathew John; Arranged by Kenny
Quammie & Mathew John; Sung by Trevor Quammie (Penshioner)

BEST ARRANGEMENT
“ Haiti Will Rise Again” – Winston Maingot

PEOPLE’S CHOICE
Eulith Tara Woods (Macomere Fifi)

The "Kaiso 365" Calypso Monarch competition is presented by the Organization of Calypso Performing Artistes (OCPA), a non-profit arts organization (www.ocpacalypsoca.com). OCPA is a cultural presenting partner in the annual Scotiabank Caribana Festival (www.caribanafestival.com).

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Media Contacts:

Stephen Weir
Stephen Weir & Associates
Tel: 416-801-3101
Email: stephen@stephenweir.com

MEDIA ALERT: Children's Parade this Saturday - Jane / Finch Toronto

CLOSE TO 2,000 CHILDREN WILL TAKE TO THE STEETS
JANE/FINCH – YORKGATE JUNIOR PARADE

Saturday, July 17, 2010
Parade starts at 11am

Mobilicity – New Sponsor. TTC adds buses for spectators
Registration numbers make this the biggest children’s parade EVER!!!

What: Children from 15 masquerade camps (including a Toronto police Mas camp for kids band) will be in costume and marching down Jane Street. Close to 2,000 children and over 20 float trucks and sound vehicles will be taking part in the Yorkgate Mall Junior Parade. Followed by a party in the parking lot with music, performances and the winner of the Yorkgate Idol
Why: The Junior Parade is a volunteer driven parade designed to teach children about how to celebrate the Caribana Festival. Traditionally held two Saturdays before the main Caribana™ parade.
Who: Children, Children, Children. Check website www.caribanafestival.com for a list of the bands
When: Kids arrive at 10.00 am. Opening ceremonies scheduled to begin at 11.00. Children will begin arriving at theYorkgate Mall by 12.30.
Where: The parade travels 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 – northwest of the Jane Finch intersection.
News: TTC adds service to get spectators up the parade route. Mobilicity NEW corporate sponsor for the parade.

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Media Contact

Stephen Weir, Publicist Alicia Sealey, Publicist
stephen@stephenweir.com atchp@the-wire.com
(416) 489-5868 Cell:(416)801-3101 (416) 599-0664 Cell:(416) 500-4349

From the Soul: Caribana Art Exhibit Largest juried display of African Canadian art presented at the ROM

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From the Soul: Caribana Art Exhibit
Largest juried display of African Canadian art presented at the ROM
ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM / SCOTIABANK CARIBANA

The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) joins in the excitement of the Scotiabank Caribana Festival and presents From the Soul: Caribana Art Exhibit, July 23 to August 13, 2010, Canada’s largest ever single juried display of works of art by African Canadian artists. Curated by renowned African Canadian artist and activist, Joan Butterfield, the exhibition is produced by the Association of African Canadian Artists, in conjunction with Scotiabank Caribana and the ROM. From the Soul will be on display in the Museum’s Bronfman Hall, Level 2 during the citywide festival, which takes place from July 15 to August 13, 2010.
“The Scotiabank Caribana Festival is a significant annual event advancing cultural celebration in the City of Toronto. The ROM is proud to present From the Soul and offer festival attendees, Torontonians and visitors to the city the opportunity to experience a unique and powerful exhibition celebrating African Canadian art,” said William Thorsell, ROM Director and CEO.
More than 160 works on canvas, several Caribana parade costumes, three dimensional bronze sculptures and award-winning ceramic pieces by 49 artists will be on display. Ms. Butterfield said, “This collection of works will arouse the conscious, still the mind and soothe the soul. Our goal is to attract a new and expanded audience to this exhibition with the hope of inspiring others with the message of courage, love and respect prevalent throughout the displays. Art is an expression of life around us and a powerful way to bring difficult topics of discussion out in the open.”
On July 24 and 25 children and adults are invited to ‘Jump Up, Jump Up’ at the ROM and share in a celebration of Caribbean culture and community by participating in a variety of Caribbean activities, music and traditions. These activities, which include crafts, storytelling, and the music of steel pannist Earl La Pierre Jr, are free with general Museum admission. For more information visit: www.rom.on.ca. As an event partner, the ROM is pleased to offer Festival patrons discounted admission through online ticketing.
About Scotiabank Caribana
The Scotiabank Caribana Festival is an exciting three-week cultural explosion of Caribbean music, cuisine, revelry as well as visual and performing arts. Now in its 43rd 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, Hip Hop, Chutney, Steel Pan and Brass Bands. The Festival Management Committee oversees the running of North America’s largest outdoor festival.
This year the official launch of the Scotiabank Caribana Festival will take place at noon on Thursday, July 15, 2010 at Yonge-Dundas Square, and the parade will be staged on Saturday, July 31, 2010 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. For further information please visit www.caribanafestival.com.

Issued for ROM by:

Stephen Weir
Scotiabank Caribana | stephen@stephenweir.com
or sweir5492@rogers.com
2482 Yonge Street, Unit 45032, Toronto, ONT.
CANADA. M4P 3E3
Tel: 416-489-5868 |Cell 416-801-3101
www.stephenweir.com

Media Alert

Metro Police to play mas with kids from Jane and Finch
Will open Mas Camp for kids
2nd floor, Yorkgate Mall

Monday May 31st, 11:00 am

Toronto, ON, 27.05.2010: Senior Officer Superintendent Sam Fernandez from 53 Division will be officially opening the Metro Toronto Police Force’s Mas Camp for Children on Monday May 31st at the Yorkgate Mall (Finch Avenue East at Jane St). He will be joined by children who are at the camp to learn how to make mas (masquerade) costumes for this summer’s Scotiabank Caribana/Yorkgate Mall Junior Carnival Parade. Brittany Dardaine, teenage pan artiste will be performing at the event.
In addition to the children and Sam Fernandez, members of the Toronto Mas Band Association, including NBA player Jamaal Magloire will be in attendance. Master costume designer Walter Elliott will be demonstrating to the children how to make costumes for the July 17th parade down Jane Street.

Scheduled to speak briefly at the Festival Management Committee morning event are:

• Superintendent Sam Fernandez
• Walter Elliott, master costume designer
• Denise Hererra-Jackson, co-chair - Scotiabank Caribana
• John Kam, Toronto Mas Band Assocation
• Teenage pannist Brittany Dardaine will perform

The Scotiabank Caribana Festival is an exciting three-week cultural explosion of Caribbean music, cuisine, revelry as well as visual and performing arts. Now in its 43rd 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, The Toronto Star, Sway Magazine, Eye Weekly, CTV, CP-24, The Canadian Federal Government, The Province of Ontario, the City of Toronto, Tourism Toronto, Research In Motion (RIM)/BlackBerry, The Greater Toronto Airports
Authority, Ontario Place, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Ontario Science Centre, The Toronto Libraries, Yorkgate Mall, Liberty Grand, Caribana Arts Group and Grace Kennedy Foods.
This year the Official Launch for the Festival will take place at 12 Noon on Thursday July 15th. The Scotiabank Caribana/Yorkgate Mall Junior Carnival Parade will be held on Saturday July 17th from 11am to 4pm. The adult parade will be staged Saturday July 31st; 10 am to 6 pm. For complete listing information, visit www.caribanafestival.com the only official website for the Festival.
Scotiabank Caribana 2010 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

CUTLINE: Two children in Mas Costumes at the 2009 Scotiabank Caribana/Yorkgate Mall Junior Carnival Parade

For further information contact:

Stephen Weir Alicia Sealey
Stephen Weir & Associates ATC Heirs Promotions
stephen@stephenweir.com atchp@the-wire.com
416-489-5868; 416-801-3101 416-599-0664

Olympic Games Will Heat Up Once Scotiabank Caribana Arrives in Vancouver

Thanks to Scotiabank Caribana
2010 Winter Games are about to feel the Vibe!

As if it wasn't hot enough at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games! Today Scotiabank Caribana announced that an all-star cast of Mas Players and world renowned Calypsonian and Pannist will be performing for 3 days at Ontario House, located at 50 Pacific Boulevard at the Concord Place Community Celebration Zone.
Ontario House will showcase the province's tourism, technological, cultural and culinary success stories. As the largest summer festival in the province and the cultural jewel of the country, Scotiabank Caribana will be featured in multimedia presentations at Ontario House, as well as three - one hour performances, one each on February 14th, 15th and
16th.
"We expect over 90,000 people to experience a little bit of Scotiabank Caribana at Ontario House," explained Festival CEO Joe Halstead. " Our performers are energized and Vancouver is really going to feel our Vibe!!!"
The intent of Scotiabank Caribana's participation is to help promote the City of Toronto and the Province of Ontario as a premier tourist destination to visit and do business. It will take the form of a 13-member team showcasing the various carnival arts; Mas', Calypso and Steel pan.
Located in between BC Place Stadium and Sochi House (Science World), Ontario House offers visitors a unique, one-of-a-kind, experience that will live on in their memories for years to come and reinforce Ontario's tourism brand message - "There's No Place Like This..." Ontario House will feature the best Ontario has to offer from a tourism perspective, featuring nightly concerts, culinary experiences, film, technology, the arts and a jaw dropping Scotiabank Caribana performance!
Audiences in Vancouver will get to experience some of the exciting entertainment that makes the 2-week Scotiabank Caribana Festival, Canada's biggest tourist draw -- next to the 2010 Winter Games. This year Scotiabank Caribana is set to kick off Tuesday July 13th at the Yonge Dundas Square. The parade will be held along Toronto's waterfront on July 31st. The festival ends on Sunday August 1st with the DeScotiabank Caribana Lime at Ontario Place.
Even after the Scotiabank Caribana performers have left Vancouver, visitors to the Olympics will see breathtaking images from the annual Toronto festival. Last summer the Canadian Tourism Commission, in association with the Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium, sent a film crew right onto the Scotiabank Caribana parade route and shot high definition footage to be used in a video postcard about the Festival.
The Caribana video postcard (one of two dozen made for the Olympics) has been reproduced into four lengths (2.5 minutes, 1 minute, 30 seconds, and 15 seconds), dubbed into several languages, and provided to over 200 official (add - 2010) Olympic Games' broadcasters around the world to be seem by a potential cumulative audience of over 10 billion people.
The Scotiabank Caribana Festival is an exciting two-week cultural explosion of Caribbean music, cuisine, revelry as well as visual and performing arts.
Now in its 43rd year, it has become a major international event and the largest cultural festival of its kind in North America. As Scotiabank Caribana 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, Chutney, and Steel
Pan music. The Festival Management Committee oversees the running of North America's largest outdoor festival. www.caribanafestival.com

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Media Contacts:

Stephen Weir
Stephen Weir & Associates
Tel: 416-801-3101 Fax: 416- 488-6518
Email: stephen@stephenweir.com

Time willing Scotiabank Caribana will perform for media in Vancouver. To contact the performers in Vancouver please contact:

Roborta Atkinson | Tour Manager
Festival Management Committee | Scotiabank Caribana
cell: 416-728-8097

Press Conference Scotiabank Caribana 2009 Westin Harbour Castle hotel June 12, 11am

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Scotiabank Caribana
263 Davenport Rd , Toronto , ON . M5R 1J9
416-391-5608, 416-391-5693
info@caribanafestival.com/ stephen@stephenweir.com

Media Alert
Important Funding Announcement & Press Conference
A Big Boost for Scotiabank Caribana 2009
Friday, June 12, 11.00 am sharp
Westin Harbour Castle Hotel
DOCKSIDE ROOM # 3
1 Harbour Square (Queen's Quay) · Toronto
On Friday the Festival Management Committee and the Government of Canada will be making a joint announcement regarding the 2009 Scotiabank Caribana festival. The press conference is scheduled to last one-half hour. There will be opportunities to interview both Minister Kent and Joe Halstead. Costumed Mas Dancers in attendance. Live Pan Music.
Scheduled to speak:
• The Honourable Peter Kent, Minister of State of Foreign Affairs ( Americas )
• Scotiabank Caribana Chairman Joe Halstead
Q&A to follow
For further information contact:

Stephen Weir publicist
416-489-5868
416-801-3101
stephen@stephenweir.com
www.caribanafestival.com

How Not To Get Radio Coverage Of Your Event

Cutlines: Dave Trafford outside Studio 1010 interviewing Minister Fonseca and pannist Joy Lapp at the Scotiabank Caribana City Hall launch 2008.
Cutlines: The crowd at the Scotiabank Caribana launch
Cutlines: The crowd at the Scotiabank Caribana launch

This Blog is nominally about how public relation people like me can help clients get that extra 5 minutes of fame. As this item will show, the Blog is also about what NOT to do when dealing with the media.

Getting publicity is not usually a difficult task. The "secret" is to really understand the event/persons/thing that is to be promoted and determine what aspects of the project will have some interest to the media. Media outlets do not all have the same interests in stories; so, a publicist has to match up the news worthiness of a project with the appropriate outlet.

Timely informing the proper media contacts by email and phone calls, coupled with an informative data package, does wonders for getting coverage. Reporters and Assignment Editors get to know publicists and usually will listen to their pitches ... and positively respond to their calls.

There is also a growing trend that publicists help create partnerships between media outlets and events/persons/things.

Media partnerships come in many different forms, but, typically it means free advertisements, story coverage ("good" coverage is not guaranteed by any means) and access to the people that matter are given in return for the media's name, logo and, sometimes their "stars" given top billing by the event/persons/thing that you are promoting. Often times the media outlets are given exclusive access over their competition.

For their part, publicists have to support the responding media by getting what they need, on time, and in a form that they need. That could mean a succinctly written, honest press clip, or, an interviewee that can perform well on camera, or a good voice on radio. In short, they must make good for their client in supporting the media partnership.

The annual Scotiabank Caribana festival depends on media partnerships. Television networks, radio stations and newspapers have paid monies to attach their name to a Festival that attracts over a million participants every summer. It delivers an audience that mainstream media has had difficulty in reaching.

For years CFRB has been a media partner with Caribana. It has given the parade cash donations, free advertising and live broadcast coverage of the parade. That relationship crashed and burned this year, and, as the publicist of record, it was my fault.

CFRB is a Toronto talk station and at first blush would seem to be an odd station to supporting a Caribbean Canadian event. It tends, at least in the high rating weekday mornings drive, to lean heavily to the right. Its prime time hosts are almost exclusively white and male. The one black host has a short Sunday shift when the ratings are very low. Both the CRTC and the broadcast standards association have received complaints from minorities -- blacks, Jewish listeners and even overweight Canadians -- about so called unfair comments made on air.

Despite that all, CFRB has been a strong voice for Caribana. It even went live – with our help – for four hours from the 2007 parade.

This summer things did not go well. This is what happened.

After getting verbal agreement from CFRB to be our sponsor. I arranged to have their broadcast truck - studio 1010 – to have exclusive radio access onto the City Hall property for the Scotiabank Caribana launch in early summer (not a mean feat, City Hall doesn't want heavy trucks on the patio).

CFRB promised to go live at noon and asked that Joe Halstead, the CEO of Scotiabank Caribana, come over to their booth for an interview at 12.02. We agreed.

The Square was bedlam. TV crews, reporters, and over 5,000 spectators crowded onto a space meant for 2,000. Loud Soca music boomed over the speakers and politicians jostled to get onto stage.

At noon Halstead was standing 50 feet from the CFRB truck. I sent him over for his interview. On his way, a Global TV crew grabbed him and started interviewing him live. I went over to extract him. By the time I got him to the CFRB booth to be interviewed by News Director Dave Trafford, the spot was lost. (Picture taken of Global broadcast wrap-up seconds after Joe left for CFRB http://www.stephenweir.com/gallery1/main.php?g2_itemId=474)

Personal apologizes to the news director and later the station's PR person, fell on deaf ears. CFRB did not formalize the partnership agreement and much of the support that was given in previous years did not occur (but their news team did cover events and there were in studio appearances by Caribana people including Joe Halstead). A 40-some relationship appears to be over.

What follows are 3 emails sent during the summer. The first is from me, to, a producer who had called to see if we were going to have our regular Thursday Caribana update on the CFRB noon package.


Stephen Weir: (The Launch Broadcast) didn't go well at 12.01. Dave (Trafford, news director) is pretty pissed. Sent Joe (Halstead) over for his inte'rview at CFRB and Global grabbed him. By the time their just "one minute" was up the (CFRB) interview was lost. Tried to apologize to Dave afterwards but ... Tourism Minister and musician (we brought on for the second interview) was great radio.

Thanks. Let me know about Thursday, ain't holding my breath on David chilling out

Dave Trafford saw that email and responded. This is the email a publicist never wants to get!


Stephen,

You certainly got the right read yesterday.

I wouldn't be so annoyed if this were something new. We deal with all the major festivals and their organizers and dealing with you is the most trying. Whether it's slack response or no-show guests, doing LIVE remote broadcasts from Caribana events present unnecessary stresses. I don't expect things to run perfectly, but I do expect that you don't just abandon us when things fall apart at your end. That's what happened yesterday.

Pointing Joe in our direction is not good enough. You should have delivered him as promised, made Halstead keep his commitment with us.12 noon is 12 noon...not 12:08 when I'm in the middle of another segment. Apologies and excuses are meaningless to our audience. The opening of our show didn't deliver as promised. It was an "on location" Caribana special...with nothing "on location" from Caribana! You made us sound weak.

We committed a full hour of LIVE programming to the event, based on your commitments, and you blew us off WITH NO NOTICE so the TV guys could get a 20 second quote from Joe. If our coverage of Caribana is not a priority for you, I'm happy to accommodate. I'm not interested in wasting time, resources and programming.


Dave Trafford
News Director
Newstalk 1010 CFRB
Astral Media Radio GP
2 St. Clair Ave. West
Toronto, ON, M4V 1L6
dave.trafford@cfrb.com

I responded a week later by email. My associate Alicia Sealey (a broadcaster who had been our voice on Radio Noon the year before) made several calls to Mr. Trafford. Neither of us got a response but, that is par for course when you are a publicist.

Dave:

Got your email. Wanted to wait a week before responding -- time has a way of putting things in perspective.

First off, your email is right on. If I had it all to do again I would have taken Joe by the arm and dragged him to 'RB. I went through hoops with city hall to get the mobile truck on the plaza, and it was personally disappointing to loose the opportunity to have our CEO talk to your audience (and your numbers are way better than Global at Noon). Our CEO only had to walk 50 feet without me to make the interview. I can't believe he didn't make it. Joe Halstead is mortified; I sent him a copy of the CFRB letter. He did try to apologize, but you had left by the time he got off stage.

I have worked with CFRB on a variety of live broadcasts over the years, from the boat show to the gourmet food and wine show, to the home show and others that I have long since forgotten. So to say all those remotes went without a hitch would not be an accurate statement. But, because of the very nature of Caribana (run by a variety of committees and thousands of volunteers), our shortcomings are much more spectacular than the failings of events that are run by private industry. Sorry that this is the way it ends between CFRB and Caribana. Historically our festival and the station have had a strong relationship even though one would immediately identify your audience as being interested in Caribana.

In the early days Gary (Slaight - the former owner of the station) would write a personal cheque to Caribana's Caribbean Cultural Committee. The first time I met him was in 1999 when I came by the building to pick up one of those cheques. FLOW, which at one time Standard owned 25% of, donated monies as well to the parade and now, I believe gives support to individual mas bands in our parade.

The Festival Management Committee (representatives from the city, the province, the mas bands, the Calypsonians and the pan artistes and the CCC) is aware of your concerns and the end of your sponsorship. I have tried to remove the CFRB logo from our list of proud sponsors, but I am afraid it is too late. All of our print material deadlines have long since passed.

The City Hall launch fiasco does have a certain amount of irony for me. The last time Caribana worked with CFRB was at the parade launch in 2007. Your station was to go live for four hours from the route.

In preparation for the day I took parking passes, maps and press kits over to your host's Riverside home and briefed her on getting into the grounds. I drove her son around for part of an afternoon in preparation for his being on the line during the parade and reporting back to his mother. I had my staff seek out suitable interviewees (including Joe Halstead), and scheduled them to come on air during the parade.

The day of the parade I met your truck at Yonge and Eglinton and drove with them into the grounds to make sure they got on location without problems. We moved them around a couple of times until they got the spot they wanted within the confines of the judging area.

One of my staff members, Alicia Sealey, was to help on-air by describing the floats marching by to your host. Like me she has worked in radio and is comfortable behind the mike, but, up until that day didn't know how 'RB physically put a show together (what buttons to push, what spots to throw to etc)

Just before CFRB was to go on air, Alicia, our first guest and myself came over to your truck. Nancy (the PR director) meet us as we came across the parade route. She gave us the news. No host! Your host was lost/stuck in traffic. And, there was no one back at the studio that could take over ... So, Alicia put on the headphones and filled in. With Taggart's (sp?) help she did very very well.

Your host didn't have a cell phone with her, but, I was able to put out a call to our 300-security force and we did locate the missing announcer and bring her to the trailer. I can't remember how long Alicia was in the chair, but she says it felt like 24 hours.

Anyway, as you can see, with 'RB and Caribana, it isn't always the guest that misses their time check.

I hope you have a good summer. I have copied Nancy on this email. The Festival Management Committee understands why CFRB will not be covering the festival and again I do apologize again for not being able to remove your logos from our many banners and printed materials.

Stephen Weir

ps - not one for e-mails, but when I did try to apologize in person, but as you know you were not having anything of that.