"THE MIN NOW RMHN' UP... THI CROWD NOW WAK1N8 UP... THE ATMOSPHERE HAS VIRES AND... NOTHIN' CANT BREAK IT UP... WE READY FOR THE ROAD. In his seminal song for T&T carnival 20 1 3, Differentology, soca superstar Bun ji Garlin set the scene for the upcoming masquerade and Montreal Carifiesta: raisin' up... the "the sun now crowd now waking up... the atmosphere has vibes and... nothin' can't break it up... WE READY FOR THE ROAD. So it is for the multitude of revelers and spectators who are ready to enjoy Montreal's hypest, most colorful and bounciest street parade, Carifiesta, once the best this side of the Atlantic.
On Saturday, July 3, certain sections of downtown Montreal should have been teeming with the music and vibrations of the Caribbean on what was supposed to be the 35th or 36th staging (depending on who is counting) of the annual Carifiesta parade. Instead, not a drum will be heard and the soca, calypso, reggae and zouk rythmns that should have been fueling the fire in the tens of thousands of participants and spectators along Rene Levesques Blv'd. will be replaced by the usual humdrum of Saturday commerce on the thoroughfare. So when it's all said and done as the cliché goes... it's our fault that we'll not be palancing in downtown Montreal.
Two years of quibbling by 'wanna be' organizers, the Caribbean Cultural Festivities Association (CCFA), and the Montreal Carnival Development Foundation (MCDF), led to a mediocre and divided parade last year and a deadlock this year that made the community exasperated and provided municipal politicians with a reason to call off the parade. We should be worried, very worried by that cancellation. Because it shows that City officials do not value Carifiesta's place in Montreal's cultural tapestry nor do they appreciate the true meaning and relevance of the festival to our community. If they did, they would have resorted to any of the other available options, like giving the permit to the legally constituted CCFA or to an interim group of organizers. Let's start denying them by taking back our signature festival Carifiesta. It's part of our legacy in Montreal and that shouldn't be compromised because of the behaviour of illinformed men and bad minded politicians.
Would this situation make good sense to the people of Montreal or to the Irish community? Should the City of Montreal now deal with this new organization, instead of the organization which has been mandated and accepted by the Irish community as having the legitimate right to hold the parade for many years? While one part of the debate is the legitimate right of either organization to hold the parade, the other sadder part of our parade dilemma is that there is one group that is made up mostly of older folks who knew what carnival was like 50 years ago, while the other group is made up of mostly young folks who understand what carnival is like now. In 2009 we were able to see Faye Ann Lyons, the offspring of our own Superblue, win the Soca Monarch, Groovy Soca Monarch, People's Choice Awards, and the Road March titles.
On Sunday. February 23. Black History Month takes a youthful turn as the next generation of Black performers takes to the stage at Caribbean Paradise for a showcase that's appropriately entitled "Let Dem Sing.''
That year, The Montreal Commercial High School student won the Outstanding Intermediate Athlete of Quebec award after setting provincial records in the 60-metre dash, 100-metre dash and the broad jump. Ms. [Rosella Marie Thome-Johnson] also earned a place on the Canadian team to compete in the British Empire Games in New Zealand. At a time when Blacks weren't highly favored, Ms. Thome's exceptional feats as a track and field athlete and as a star basketball player earned her the honor of being invited to Buckingham Palace by Queen Elizabeth and meeting world leaders and dignitaries. In recognition and honor of her accomplishments, she was presented with the Crest Ring of the City and The Key to the City by then Montreal Mayor Camilien Houde. In die months that followed, Ms. Thome continued to excel in track and field as a member of the Montreal Olympic Track Team and on the basketball court with the Montreal Meteor women's team. Two years ' later, in 1952, she attained another milestone in her already spectacular track and field career when she went to the Helsinki Olympics in Finland; these games were significant in that they marked the first participation by the Soviet Union.
Ubder the theme, "Caribbean Escape," this year's Taste of the Caribbean festival, the 13th since its inception, will take place Sunday, May 27, 20 1 2 at Marché Bonsecours in Old Montreal. It will feature over 75 Caribbean dishes from over 14 Caribbean countries prepared by local and visiting Caribbean executive chefs. Escape to the Caribbean at A Taste of The Caribbean 2012 without leaving Montreal. Early Bird tickets are on sale until March 3 1 at all fine locations: VlP $115, General Admission $45. Available at Maison de Beauté Doreens, Caribbean Curry House, Shamies Boutique, Princessa, Marché West Island, Marché Colonnades. Early Bird, until March 31, $115, after $125.
A recent editorial in the Trinidad Express quotes V.S. Naipaul in describing the idea that "if people cannot live in the day they would live in the night", as indicated in the greater willingness of people to cross the fine line between legitimate religion and superstition as life becomes more complex and challenging. The `mental darkness' to which the author was referring is the result of "the inevitable accompaniment of social marginalization and economic hopelessness in which so large a part of our population lives." From Montreal to Toronto to New York and the Caribbean there would seem to be a proliferation of new churches (38 in one small Toronto community), and ministers with questionable credentials promising solutions to all problems (`miracles' to be more precise) including childlessness, drug and alcohol addiction, impotence, disease, release from `spells', and depression. All for a price, of course. Two recent cases involving the deaths of teenagers in Trinidad can also serve to highlight the extremes to which this new `religion' has gone. In the first case a 17-year-old girl who became sick at her parents home was taken to her late grandmother's house (apparently a well-known Baptist woman in South Trinidad) where her body was kept for three days after her death (in spite of decay and flies) in the hope that the spirit of her dead grandmother would resurrect her back to life.
