Caribana sizzles in sunshine

At the starting line of the Caribana parade Saturday, that was certainly the feeling.

After her friends had showered themselves in gold glitter, the ground below Kelly Persod, Borokeete Canada’s Queen of the Band, sparkled in the sun.

It must have been hard not to feel regal standing in her ten-metre tall costume, posing while people took pictures.

Still, Persod admitted she was a little nervous before the big show.

“It’s my first time playing queen,” she explained.

But Persod had nothing to be nervous about. After all, she grew up in Trinidad, masquerading in Carnival parades year after year.

“It’s in my blood,” she said.

On the parade route here, Persod’s experience shone through. Her orange, white and gold sails swayed in time with the blaring soca music as Borokeete rolled on.

A dragon’s tail bounced playfully behind her as she shook her hips for the crowd, the foil paper on her costume reflecting rainbow colours in the sun.

In total, 16 masquerade (mas) bands, ten steel band orchestras, and four guest bands marched down Lake Shore Blvd. in the marquee event of Toronto’s colourful festival of Caribbean culture. The mas bands were led by Errol Achue’s Temptation, which featured a woman in a huge white satin dress, with twisted fibreglass edges flowing wide around her.

Achue set a high standard, but the other bands didn’t disappoint. The costumes just seemed to get bigger and bigger.

“They’re beautiful,” said Evelyn Cox, a self-described regular at Caribana parades. “My favourite so far is the Trinidad and Tobago one,” she said, referring to a red and black costume with prints of giant soccer balls on the ends of each of its large wings. Curtis Eustrace, leader of the La Copa Mundial band, said it was a tribute to Trinidad’s entry in the World Cup this year — a point of pride for many Trinidadians. Behind the larger costumes, masqueraders of all shapes and sizes strutted their stuff. They ranged from svelte, scantily-clad women to older paunchy men — dressed in equally revealing two-piece get-ups.

They shimmied and hot-stepped their way along, waving to the crowd. But don’t let the joyful demeanour fool you; masquerading is a really tough job.

“It’s really tiring with the sun,” said Ayanna Dick, a long-time spectator masquerading in her first parade.

“But it’s a lot of fun. People get together and just have a great time.”

Dick added that as a second-generation West Indian, it’s important for her to help keep her culture alive in Canada.

As the masqueraders marched, DJs and live soca bands played Trinidadian hits from the back of 18-wheeler trucks. Spectators also had the chance to take in live performances of Trinidad’s national instrument, the steel drum.

Briana Brian of the Panfantasy orchestra said that although steel drums are associated primarily with Trinidad, Caribana is all about being inclusive. “I’m not even Trini, I’m a Haitian, but it doesn’t matter what culture you are,” she said, adding that all that really matters is that people in the crowd stay safe.

“I just hope there’s no violence.” Police wouldn’t say how many officers were on duty, but they did maintain a visible presence along the parade route. Staff Insp. Tony Crawford said the number of officers assigned to patrol Caribana was the same as in previous years.

Courtesy Toronto Star