Calgary Carifest honours Caribbean culture as thousands gather to celebrate
A couple thousand Calgarians wore colourful costumes, played traditional music and danced for hours in the downtown streets Saturday morning to celebrate Caribbean culture.
The 2022 Carifest showcased several cultural groups from Jamaica to Grenada, Trinidad & Tobago, Brazil and beyond as they paraded from Olympic Plaza all the way to Shaw Millennium Park.
Billed as the city’s largest festival, spokesperson Sabrina Naz Comanescu says she’s overwhelmed by the community support after two years of cancelled events due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It means the world that we were able to be back on the road with all the bands, all the revelers, and all the good vibes,” she said.
“This absolutely characterizes a time for multiculturalism, but especially an eye on Caribbean culture.”
The event was particularly important for members of the Jamaican Canadian Association of Alberta as they recently celebrated the 60 year anniversary of the country’s independence from Britain on Aug. 6.
“How can you not have a smile on your face? This is freedom of 60 years of independence and you can't put a price on that,” said Ashford Baker of Calgary’s Jamaican community.
“I'll tell you something my friend, when the music hits you, you feel no pain. I think that's what we needed to kind of get through this and to bring us all back together again to share this as one.”
Many different cultural organizations took part in the event with the vast majority dancing to the sweet sounds of Soca music which is a mixture of Calypso, soul, West African, East Indian and Latin influences.
Perhaps the most exciting dance however was called the ‘Jab Jab’.
The Grenada-based dance is a celebration of the emancipation of slaves.
Namika Reuben could be seen covered in black paint alongside others with scary masks to signify the important historical event.
“It was first started with the slave masters, they used to take molasses and paint their bodies to mark the slave,” he said.
“So after emancipation the freed slaves took it a bit further and turned it into an emancipation celebration. In today's world, we use it more often to actually express our true freedom.”
Plenty of vendors also took part in the event which will run until 8 p.m. Saturday at Shaw Millennium Park.
The evening will include performances from international Soca artist, Patrice Roberts along with Steele & the Hardcore Reggae Band from Toronto.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.