T
TO Tower Fan
Guest
First off, this thread is very different from my past Toronto threads. This set will not include a whole array of different pictures from around the city but will focus solely on the Caribana parade. I was intending to do a full Toronto thread covering Regent Park and the waterfront but weather wasn't my friend....the day I planned to shoot these areas was the day that a freaky thunderstorm invaded Toronto and caused this at the airport:
Sorry i'm posting this so long after the parade, but my Chicago threads took 80 gigs of tranfer last month so I had to hold off until September. I will try to do a real photothread in the near future, but for now I hope you enjoy the Caribana thread.
Caribana is Toronto's largest festival and attracts over 1 million people to the parade alone. The parade is on the first weekend of August and celebrates west-indian and caribean culture. It is the 2nd largest Caribean festival in the world (behind Carnival in Trinidad) and is the largest cultural festival in North America. On a personal level, this festival has been very close to my family as we are originally from Guyana and have deep roots in West Indian culture and many of my family members have participated and organized some big events that have to do with Caribana in the past. Hopefully these pics will convey the vibrancy and excitement that is found in the Caribana parade.
And if there is one thing that you can take away from this thread...it's that even though many of the participants have caribbean roots, there are a lot who are white or asian that just want to join in on the festival and have no caribbean roots whatsoever. You see so many cultural parades and festivals posted on here where all you see are blacks, or whites, or some exclusive group. This is diversity at its best!
Enjoy.
Sun rises on a perfect to day to party:
The parade route takes place along Lake Shore Blvd about a 10 minute streetcar trip west of the downtown core. It starts from the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) fairgrounds where there are stands set up for people that prefer to sit rather than stand and watch the parade. The parade then proceeds west onto Lake Shore Boulevard.
The staging grounds at the CNE:
The first few bands head out onto the route as the crowds start to arrive:
The first large group approaches....this one is Louis Saldenah's Mas Camp. This is his 25th year on the route and his camp is the most decorated and reputable mas camp around. This is the camp that my family usually gets quite involved with.
The 5-0 keeps a watch on things from the waterfront:
Guyanese girls.....the best kind there is...
.....yes indeed....
....actually...wait....I forgot about Asians chicks....damit, all ladies are beautiful no matter where they from:
Jamaica representin':
Toronto Maple Leafs and funny sunshades representin':
Wave your Trini flag with your trini colours and all:
The colours:
Yo....don't tip the truck over:
Toronto Argonaut (CFL team) cheerleaders:
Whine it up girls:
Yes....just like that:
The next day my family went to the Last Lap Lime in Woodbridge which is a festival strictly celebrating Guyanese culture. I didn't take many pics so here's a handful of pics from the event:
Buying guyanese snacks...cheesestraws, pinetarts, mittai, sugarcakes anyone?:
Thanks for sticking out for the long ride:
Here's your skyline shot...now get off my back:
-----BONUS PHOTOS------
These pics I didn't post on SSP because I wanted to keep the thread short enough so people won't lose interest...but here are some extra shots for my T.O. peeps:
Way to hide your stockings:
Sorry i'm posting this so long after the parade, but my Chicago threads took 80 gigs of tranfer last month so I had to hold off until September. I will try to do a real photothread in the near future, but for now I hope you enjoy the Caribana thread.
Caribana is Toronto's largest festival and attracts over 1 million people to the parade alone. The parade is on the first weekend of August and celebrates west-indian and caribean culture. It is the 2nd largest Caribean festival in the world (behind Carnival in Trinidad) and is the largest cultural festival in North America. On a personal level, this festival has been very close to my family as we are originally from Guyana and have deep roots in West Indian culture and many of my family members have participated and organized some big events that have to do with Caribana in the past. Hopefully these pics will convey the vibrancy and excitement that is found in the Caribana parade.
And if there is one thing that you can take away from this thread...it's that even though many of the participants have caribbean roots, there are a lot who are white or asian that just want to join in on the festival and have no caribbean roots whatsoever. You see so many cultural parades and festivals posted on here where all you see are blacks, or whites, or some exclusive group. This is diversity at its best!
Enjoy.
Sun rises on a perfect to day to party:
The parade route takes place along Lake Shore Blvd about a 10 minute streetcar trip west of the downtown core. It starts from the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) fairgrounds where there are stands set up for people that prefer to sit rather than stand and watch the parade. The parade then proceeds west onto Lake Shore Boulevard.
The staging grounds at the CNE:
The first few bands head out onto the route as the crowds start to arrive:
The first large group approaches....this one is Louis Saldenah's Mas Camp. This is his 25th year on the route and his camp is the most decorated and reputable mas camp around. This is the camp that my family usually gets quite involved with.
The 5-0 keeps a watch on things from the waterfront:
Guyanese girls.....the best kind there is...
.....yes indeed....
....actually...wait....I forgot about Asians chicks....damit, all ladies are beautiful no matter where they from:
Jamaica representin':
Toronto Maple Leafs and funny sunshades representin':
Wave your Trini flag with your trini colours and all:
The colours:
Yo....don't tip the truck over:
Toronto Argonaut (CFL team) cheerleaders:
Whine it up girls:
Yes....just like that:
The next day my family went to the Last Lap Lime in Woodbridge which is a festival strictly celebrating Guyanese culture. I didn't take many pics so here's a handful of pics from the event:
Buying guyanese snacks...cheesestraws, pinetarts, mittai, sugarcakes anyone?:
Thanks for sticking out for the long ride:
Here's your skyline shot...now get off my back:
-----BONUS PHOTOS------
These pics I didn't post on SSP because I wanted to keep the thread short enough so people won't lose interest...but here are some extra shots for my T.O. peeps:
Way to hide your stockings:
