Toronto's Caribana a Celebration of Freedom (Photos)

Tourism

Toronto’s Caribana a Celebration of Freedom (Photos)

August 5, 2022

Kenney Coombs, a retired government employee, works on his latest design, titled Queens & Goddesses, at the Carnival Nationz's Mas Camp in Toronto, Canada, Sunday, July 24, 2022. The 55th annual parade returned to the streets after the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled it for two years in a row. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

TORONTO — Caribana. A Celebration of Freedom.

Feathers. Glitter. Decadent floats. Booming music.

The vibrant masquerade at the Carnival Festival in Toronto is far more than a visual delight. It is a celebration of freedom — of liberation and exuberance never so necessary as after two years of the event’s cancellation due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The return of the 55th annual parade offers much-needed relief for Toronto’s Caribbean immigrant community, who rejoice, reconnect and remember emancipation from slavery in extravagant plumage on their streets.

Carnival costumes arrive for the preparation of the King and Queen Showcase for the Carnival parade at Lamport Stadium in Toronto, Canada, Thursday, July 28, 2022. The 55th annual parade returned to the streets after the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled it for two years in a row. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

In major cities across the world, tens of thousands of revelers flock to the streets for Carnival celebrations. Toronto, for its part, has its parade on what the Canadian government recognizes as Emancipation Day weekend, the first Saturday of August commemorating the day slavery was abolished throughout the British Empire in 1834.

The participants who hammer out rhythms on hundreds of steel pans and carefully craft the feathered costumes describe the parade as a fundamentally life-affirming event, a full-sensory experience.

Carnival dancers perform during a break at a baseball game at Rogers Center in Toronto, Canada, Wednesday, July 27, 2022. The 55th annual parade returned to the streets after the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled it for two years in a row. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

“For the new generations of Trinidad, the carnival is a reminder of where they come from,” Thadel Wilson, a steel pan drummer, told The Associated Press. “The Caribbean Carnival is for everyone, a day to celebrate the positives in your life and let go of the negatives.”

Some 10,000 costumed festival-goers took over the exhibition grounds on Toronto’s central Lake Shore Boulevard, transforming the site into a kaleidoscope of feathered wings and bejeweled headdresses in every color imaginable.

The city was buzzing — literally. The soca-infused bass shook the ground. Drums clanged. Families and friends reunited after years of pandemic restrictions. And peacocking performers sashayed down the boulevard to the beat of the music.

A Carnival masquerader performs during King and Queen Showcase at Lamport Stadium in Toronto, Canada, Thursday, July 28, 2022. The 55th annual parade returned to the streets after the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled it for two years in a row. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

Costume designer Leslie Cupid, also known as Framp, carries a mannequin after the Carnival costume sale presentation at the Carnival Nationz’s Mas Camp in Toronto, Canada, Sunday, July 24, 2022. The 55th annual parade returned to the streets after the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled it for two years in a row. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

Missy, right, fixes her friend Sasha’s costume as they ride the train to the Caribbean Carnival parade in Toronto, Canada, Saturday, July 30, 2022. The 55th annual parade returned to the streets after the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled it for two years in a row. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

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