Camp Carnival

Camp Carnival http://www.campcarnival.org/index.html

This is a new initiative that I just heard about, I got this e-mail advertising tickets for a fete and they mentioned that part proceeds are going to support this group.

It is sort of a summer day camp for students exposing them to Carnival culture

It hasn’t launched yet, but it really sounds like a great concept. Check out the link, they have a pretty cool website

Our MissionThrough activities rooted in the Caribana Festival, Camp Carnival aims to provide at-risk youth of Toronto with novel, intensely engaging opportunities to gain artistic experience, while facilitating personal growth, life-skill development, community reinforcement and cultural participation.
What Is Camp Carnival?
Camp Carnival is the first-ever, youth-focused, not-for-profit educational program promoting the Caribbean-inspired phenomenon that is the Toronto Carnival (Caribana) Festival. Camp Carnival takes advantage of the great excitement Caribana stirs in youth and uses it as a tool for demonstrating the importance of the arts.
Program StructureCamp Carnival is scheduled to run from June 2nd to August 5th, intensifying the highly anticipated Caribana 40th anniversary festivities.
During this initial pilot project, We Makin’ Mas, fifteen (15) youth will participate in a series of educational workshops and experience first-hand, the process of making mas. Mas, a shortened form of ‘masquerade’, is a colloquial term referring to the costumes worn by revellers during the Caribana parade.
The creation of big mas, extravagant, float-like costumes is deemed by many to be the creative pinnacle of the Caribana festivities. Under the guidance of experienced mas practitioners, youth will be involved in all stages of creating big mas, from conception to design, planning, construction and performance. Youth will have the opportunity to experience the thrill of showcasing their collaborative work at high-profile Caribana events.

I pulled all this from their site, I really think it is a concept worth supporting.

Laters
Trini-in-Toronto