Revellers transformed Lake Shore Boulevard into a dazzling spectacle of feathers, embellished costumes and dancing on Saturday as the city celebrated the Toronto Caribbean Carnival’s Grand Parade.
The parade caps off a month of festivities celebrating Caribbean culture.
Mayor Olivia Chow helped kick things off at the parade, dancing with revellers Saturday morning in a purple and pink feathered costume.
“Every part of my body is moving,” said Chow from the parade sidelines.
WATCH | Chow dances with revellers at the Grand Parade:
Crowds flooded Lake Shore Boulevard on Saturday to celebrate Toronto’s 57th annual Caribbean Carnival Grand Parade — including Mayor Olivia Chow. She was seen dancing in costume with revellers during the parade, which caps off a month of festivities celebrating Caribbean culture.
Toronto is home to the largest carnival in North America, organizers said. The city said it is expecting just under a million people to attend this year’s parade — the 57th annual carnival in Toronto.
Carnival also marks emancipation, the end of slavery. Several countries in the Americas and the Caribbean islands celebrate the festival every year.
Participating in the parade, known as playing mas, is “pure happiness,” said Amber Wilson. She’s been doing it for more than a decade.
People can choose a musical band they want to play mas with, she said. The band then designs participants’ outfits.
“Putting them on is a very skilled and time consuming process,” Wilson said.
This year, Wilson said she’s parading with Saldenah Carnival, one of Toronto’s longest-standing and most successful bands.
Karissa Singh, who is also parading with Saldenah, says she was up since 5:30 a.m. to get into her costume.
“But it feels like it’s all worth it to come here on the stage and party with everybody we love,” she said.
Faith Hilliman-Foster says playing mas is a chance to “take part in my culture and express it through my city.”
“We’re just bringing out the Caribbean experience,” she said.
Caribbean culture is all about expression, through music, food and costumes, said Kadiaja McCalla, who is parading with Hilliman-Foster.
Regardless of body type, everyone is encouraged to participate in the carnival, she said.
“In our culture we celebrate you anywhere,” McCalla said. “How you look, it doesn’t matter.”
Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh was also present – although not in costume. He said he’s been going to the festival since he was 19.
“This is one of the premier events for the City of Toronto,” he said. “The vibes, the energy, the people.”
The carnival is “a time to celebrate and take up space,” he said.
Maurice Bygrave, a founding member of the carnival when it began in 1967, said the organizing group thought the carnival would be a one-off event. However, it was so successful that the city’s mayor at the time, William Dennison, requested it become an annual festival.
“We brought the world to Toronto,” Bygrave said. “And it’s still going strong.”
Road closures
Road closures for the parade take effect on Aug. 3 at 12 a.m. and continue until Aug. 4 at 7 a.m., including:
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Lake Shore Boulevard W. from Fort York Boulevard to Colborne Lodge Drive
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Lake Shore Boulevard W. westbound between Bathurst Street and Fort York Boulevard will be open to local traffic only
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Strachan Avenue southbound from Fleet Street
A number of Gardiner Expressway ramps will close at 12 a.m. on Aug 3 including the on- and off-ramp at Jameson Avenue and the off-ramp at Dunn Avenue.
The parade officially ends at 8 p.m., but many events for the festival will run into the late hours of the night.