Car REntal in Toronto Canada and the Caribana Festival
When you think of Toronto, Canada, it's unlikely that steel drums and calypso music immediately come to mind. But that's only because you're not familiar with Toronto's Caribbean Carnival Festival. Every summer, the streets of the T dot blaze with excitement, as elaborately dressed civilians flood the street for parades, parties and fun. Known as Caribana, the Toronto Caribbean Festival draws hundreds of thousands of tourists and participants each year, many of which travel from halfway around the globe to participate. It is the largest street festival in North America, and was one of the first to be held outside of the Caribbean.
Taste the tropics during your car rental in Toronto Canada vacation
Caribana has been a major cultural event in Toronto for nearly half a century, providing car rental in Toronto Canada vacationers with a taste of island life. Introduced by immigrants from Trinidad and Tobago, Caribana is now the city's most highly anticipated annual event. The event, which lasts for two weeks, reaches its peak in the final weekend when the Parade of Bands takes place. This weekend is normally planned to correspond with the Ontario holiday of Simcoe Day, named for John Graves Simcoe, one of the province's most prominent abolitionists. The parade consists of costumed dancers (Mas players), live music and elaborately dressed pedestrians.
Feel the rhythm
In addition to the main parade, car rental in Toronto Canada travelers will also enjoy the more rhythmic J'ouvert portion of the festival. J'ouvert, which means "day-open" in French-Creole, usually features steel bands and improvised musical instruments. It is very common for band players to cover themselves in paint during their performance in order to resemble "evil spirits" from Caribbean-based culture. Blue, green, red and black devils can be seen throughout the city during this early morning celebration.
Listen to the music
Music is the most important part of the main Carnival parade at Caribana. This is because the bands are actually in competition with one another during the parade ceremony. Each band is required to pass a judging spot, where the panel will assess the group on costume design, the energy of the masquarders and the creativity of the presentation. Car rental in Toronto Canada will also notice two extremely elaborate costumes in each band. These are known as the King and Queen of the group. This aspect of the band is based on Trinidad tradition where the person willing to spend the most on their costume would be crowned the king or queen and recognized as the wealthiest member. These costumes are made of skilfully bent wires, feathers, fabrics, beads and fringe. Some of the bands that have participated in past Caribana celebrations have include Mas Jamboree, Precious Jewel, The Awakening, Beyond the Horizon and the Toronto Revellers.
Toronto's multicultural heritage is stronger than ever
Planning the annual Caribana Festival is quite the undertaking, what with the thousands of participants, and visitors that are expected every year. That's why the municipal government of Toronto took it upon itself to help fund the event via the Caribana Cultural Committee. Sadly, in 2006 the city did not renew their funding and the future of Caribana was in limbo. Today, the festival is sponsored in part by the city, but funding comes primarily from companies committed to keeping Toronto a multicultural hotspot. Past supports have included Scotiabank, the Toronto Sun and CBC.
Take a trip to the islands during your car rental in Toronto Canada vacation - plan to participate in this year's Caribana festival. For more information on the festival, please visit the official Caribana website at www.Caribanafestibal.com. Car rental in Toronto Canada travelers can purchase tickets for special Caribana events by calling 416-391-5693.