For first time in 53 years, COVID-19 concerns mean the Toronto Caribbean Carnival – previously called Caribana – isn’t the traditional vibrant multi-day festival people have come to love.
“Being in here and it’s empty is just heartbreaking. There would [normally] be a lot of energy going on right now,” Candice Dixon says as she and her husband, Dwayne, stand in the middle of a desolate warehouse space.
It’s the site of their mas camp, where people would normally gather to get ready and distribute costumes ahead of the Toronto Caribbean Carnival.
Long-time masqueraders, Candice and Dwayne Dixon have worked for the past two years to start their own mas band, SugaCayne, in time for 2020. Costumes were designed, spaces were leased, themes and concepts tirelessly worked over.
That all came to a halt when COVID-19 was declared a pandemic and Toronto went into lockdown.
“At first I was like, okay, two weeks … I’ll bring some stuff home and work on a few pieces. And then it became very real that it wasn’t happening, and it was a blow,” Dixon says.
For the first time in 53 years, Toronto Caribbean Carnival (previously called Caribana) will not be held the way people have come to know it: a vibrant multi-day festival with parties, concerts, the King and Queen competition and the Grand Parade attracting more than 1 million people.
- WATCH: Watch the feature about how Toronto’s Caribbean Carnival is coping with the pandemic, Sunday Aug. 2 on The National at 9 p.m. ET on CBC News Network and 10 p.m. local time on your CBC television station. You can also catch The National online on CBC Gem.
The first Caribana was held in Toronto on Aug. 5, 1967. It was organized by a group of prominent Caribbean community members as a tribute to centennial celebrations and the tradition of Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago, where it’s a celebration of emancipation of enslaved peoples.
When the decision to cancel this year’s festivities due to the pandemic came on April 8, carnival organizers promised to find a “non-traditional” way to mark the weekend.
They have held virtual events, in the form of makeup workshops, workout and cooking classes, and parties and panels over Zoom and Instagram live. The main event on Aug. 1 is a day-long party with DJs, performers and revelers from around the world called The Virtual Road.
Denise Herrera-Jackson, head of government relations for Toronto Caribbean Carnival, says the goal was to highlight the many contributions by members of the community that often go unseen, and maintain the spirit of celebration.
“We went through it diligently trying to create events that would continue to represent what was going on. And the more important thing I think we found was bringing in what happens in the background of this festival,” says Herrera-Jackson. “Who were the artisans? Who were the designers talking to them? How do you do it, you know? So bringing that back-story upfront was very critical.”
Community impact
But virtual events can’t make up for the money Carnival brings in, with thousands of tourists coming into the city every year to take part. Organizers estimated that it contributes $400 million to Canada’s GDP every year, the bulk of that coming from accommodations, transportation and food and beverage services.
Jackson says it’s small Caribbean busine