Overview
Caribana is a festival of Caribbean culture and traditions held each
summer in the city of Toronto in Ontario,
Canada. Annually Caribana draws hundreds of thousands of tourists from around
the globe to Toronto's lakeshore. Caribana is a Caribbean_Carnival-style event, that has been billed as North America's Largest Street Festival.
The main Caribana events are run by a nonprofit organization named the Caribbean Cultural Committee (CCC). The entire
Caribana event, which is one of the first Caribbean Carnivals to be held outside of the region, brings in over 1 million
people to the shores of Toronto pumping an estimated $300 million into the local Toronto, Ontario, and Canadian economy.
The fesitval is highlighted by a massive street parade, with costumed dancers and
live Caribbean music, such as soca, calypso, steelpan, reggae and salsa. As with many of the other Caribbean style festivals, there's also a King and Queen of the Bands
Competition, and a two-day Caribbean art festival on Toronto's Olympic Island, along with many individual music and cultural events.
Caribana has run annually since 1967, it was originally performed as a gift from
Canada's West Indian community, as a tribute to Canada's
Centennial year.
Caribana attracts spectators, musicians, and "Mas" players from all over the world including, North America, The Caribbean,
Europe, Africa, and Asia to meet in Toronto from mid-July until the first week of August annually.
Developments
In September of 2004, the Consul general of Trinidad and Tobago pledged to work more closely with the city of
Toronto to jointly promote Caribana and to provide direct-knowledge on how Toronto
can more effectivly grow the festival. Trinidad and Tobago
holds an annual Carnival of their own from December until Ash Wednesday, which Caribana was
originally based.
Industries and sectors which stand to benefit from more collaboration with Trinidad and Tobago include Toronto's tourism product, the hotels, storeowners, caterers, airlines,
transport services and the business community.
External links
- CaribanaFestival.com (http://www.caribanafestival.com/) The Caribbean Cultural Committee CCC - Producers of the
Caribana Festival & Official website.
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