Juniors sure showed us how to play mas!

 Junior Carnival 2012 at Downsview Park

Congratulations to Toronto Revellers for wining Band of the Year! Very well done. I was quite impressed with their Indian Bollywood inspired costumes. Every year, their costumes seem to get better and better, more elaborate and intricate, and certainly representative of the band theme.
We also heard that Tribal Knights took both the Junior King and Queen titles (unofficial results) So big up to Dexter and his crew also. (as soon as we find the rest of the results we will post them.)

The scorching sun and long wait time didn't stop the kiddies from showcasing their mas and parading through Downsview and the adjacent vacant John Drury Drive (which has former base housing).

Holding it at Downsview should have made sense. Looking at the map, and seeing it all setup at 9 am, I figured well, there's plenty of space. The "ribbon cutting" began at 11:00, finished 30 minutes later, and the first band was on the route by noon. But once the first bands did their loop, they were stuck at the end of the parade route, which is also near the assembly area (the beginning), only to be left to wait to cross the bridge and get into the park with the family activities. Gridlock was definitely a problem with the parade. The 5th band, Tribal Knights, was still at judging at 1 p.m. There were 13 bands. Imagine that long wait for the wee ones.

I also noticed the Kings, Queens and Individuals had quite a bit of time at judging, as did every section. Perhaps a time limit for bands should be tried, considering who the masqueraders are: young, and therefore they get tired and cranky quicker, especially in the humidity, with very little shade.

It was a rather odd feeling parading around John Drury Dr. since the houses were empty. One band leader accurately called it a ghost town. The spectators were only set up inside Downsview.
I missed seeing all the spectators cheer the children on along Jane St.  

The park certainly was big enough though, with plenty of room for the food vendors, the huge stage, assorted tents, and big sponsor Chevrolet (GM).

Parking looked to be plentiful, but many selfish drivers wanted the prime spots, so they inconsiderately made their own parking spot. Obviously many people didn't give a rats a$$ and parked directly behind cars, blocking them in. Yes. Come on, think about if that was you stuck there and you had an emergency! STEUPS!!!! Bad kharma, as this is now bound to happen to them.

So what did you think of holding the parade at the new location? I'm curious to know what the bands, adults walking the parade with their kids, and spectators thought.

 

Junior Carnival Band of the Year
BAND - THEME
1) Junior Revellers - The Jungle Book meets Bollywood
2) Carnival Nationz - Empires
3) Tribal Knights - Candyland


Junior Carnival Queen of the Bands
CONTESTANT - PORTRAYAL - BAND - THEME
1) Celena Seusahai - Skittlez - Tribal Knights - Candyland
2) Kai Lewis - Queen Elizabeth 1 - Lil' Nationz - Empires
3) Chania Cunningham - At the Temple of Shiva - Junior Revellers - The Jungle Book meets Bollywood


Junior Carnival King of the Bands
CONTESTANT - PORTRAYAL - BAND - THEME
1) Malik Adams - Willie Wonka - Tribal Knights - Candyland
2) Keishaun Ewing - Predator - Fantazia International - Wonders of the Enchanted Forest
3) Demeko Minott - Tonatiuh, Aztec Warrior Sun God - Lil' Nationz - Empires


Junior Carnival Female Individual
CONTESTANT - PORTRAYAL - BAND - THEME
1) Desiree Pennant - Peafowl in the Garden - Fantazia International - Wonders of the Enchanted Forest
2) Caneisa Edwards - Cotton Candy Fairy - Tribal Knights - Candyland
3) Reeyana Singh - Flamenco Dancer - Lil' Nationz - Empires


Junior Carnival Male Individual
CONTESTANT - PORTRAYAL - BAND - THEME
1) Aaron Degraff - Mystical Creature - Fantazia International - Wonders of the Enchanted Forest
2) Deon James - Trust in Me - Junior Revellers - The Jungle Book meets Bollywood
3) Jaden Nelson - Matador - Lil' Nationz - Empires

I took the results from http://www.decocoapanyol.com/ 

The kiddies palanced at Junior Carnival

Congrats to Louis Saldenah for their BIG wins today: Band of the Year, Queen, King and Female Individual!!!
So we just got back from the Caribana Junior Parade for 2010.
We had a really nice time. There were 12 bands and we have to give shout outs to both the FMC and the band leaders, because we started exactly on time. Very impressive. The costumes looked really good and there were lots of kids having a great time. These are a few pictures that we took, the kids had a blast, so if you have little ones and they weren't in the parade, you need to sign them up next year. Some bands had costumes for as little as $20.
The parade ended up at Yorkgate mall and there was music and lots of food and entertainment for the kids.
- Trini-in-Toronto.


Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Over 1,600 children performing in 13 masquerade (or mas) bands took part in this morning’s Scotiabank Caribana/Yorkgate Mall Junior Carnival Parade. An estimated crowd of 5,000 watched as the children danced their way from the Black Creek Pioneer Village down Jane Street to the Yorkgate Mall at Finch Avenue.

The Parade is designed to give children a taste of what the (adult) Scotiabank Caribana Parade is like on Saturday, July 31^st, 2010. As well, it showcases the Jane/Finch neighbourhood in a positive light. Each band in the parade was judged for a number of titles and prizes. What follows are the results of the competition (only the top three are sited below). Competitors have only 48 hours to contest these results. If unchallenged, they become official on Tuesday, July 20^th, 2010.

2010 Junior Band of the Year

RANK – 2010 THEME/NAME – MAS BAND (BAND LEADER)

1^st EXPRESS YOURSELF – IT’S PORTRAIT TIME – Louis Saldenah Mas-K Club (Louis Saldenah)

2^nd DISCO FEVER … AIN’T NO STOPPING US NOW – Toronto Revellers (Jamaal Magloire)

3^rd SPARROW D’LEGEND – Carnival Nationz (Marcus Eustace)

2010 Junior King of the Bands

RANK – MAS PORTRAYER, AGE – COSTUME’S NAME – 2010 MAS BAND THEME (BANK LEADER)

1^st Fabian Lee, 9 – Portrait of Trinidad - A Tribute to the Mighty Sniper

– EXPRESS YOURSELF – IT’S PORTRAIT TIME – Louis Saldenah Mas-K Club (Louis Saldenah)

2^nd Malik Adams, 10 – The Arabian King – HOLLYWOOD: GLITZ AND GLAMOUR (Dexter Seusahai)

3^rd Demeko Minott, 13– Come Dance with Me – DISCO FEVER … AIN’T NO STOPPING US NOW

(Jamaal Magloire)

2010 Junior Queen of the Bands

RANK – MAS PORTRAYER, AGE – COSTUME’S NAME – 2010 MAS BAND THEME (BAND LEADER)

1^st Destynee Charles, 11 – A Star is Born – EXPRESS YOURSELF – IT’S PORTRAIT TIME

– Louis Saldenah Mas-K Club (Louis Saldenah)

2^nd Celena Seusahai, 12 – The Glamour Goddess – HOLLYWOOD: GLITZ AND GLAMOUR (Dexter Seusahai)

3^rd (tie) Paige Lewis, 14 – Queen of the Band – SPARROW D’LEGEND (Marcus Eustace)

3^rd (tie) Toshada Benjamin, 13 – Two Worlds, One Destiny – WONDERS OF THE WORLD (Whitney Doldron)

2010 Junior Male Individual of the Year

RANK – MAS PORTRAYER, AGE – COSTUME’S NAME – 2010 MAS BAND THEME/NAME (BAND LEADER)

1^st Darion Jackson, 5 – The Suns for My Sunflower – EXPRESS YOURSELF – IT’S PORTRAIT TIME

– Louis Saldenah Mas-K Club (Louis Saldenah)

2^nd Adam Ansil Ali, 15 – Boogie Night - Disco Night – DISCO FEVER … AIN’T NO STOPPING US NOW

(Jamaal Magloire)

3^rd Maven Lee, 8 – Nyte Life T.O. – EXPRESS YOURSELF – IT’S PORTRAIT TIME

– Louis Saldenah Mas-K Club (Louis Saldenah)

2010 Junior Female Individual of the Year

RANK – MAS PORTRAYER, AGE – COSTUME’S NAME – 2010 MAS BAND THEME/NAME (BAND LEADER)

1^st Haley Prescod, 15 – A New Day Dawning – WONDERS OF THE WORLD (Whitney Doldron)

2^nd Caneisha Edwards, 8 – Sweet Cherry – HOLLYWOOD: GLITZ AND GLAMOUR (Dexter Seusahai)

3^rd Anastasia La Rose, 12 – Disco Diva – DISCO FEVER … AIN’T NO STOPPING US NOW (Jamaal Magloire)

A panel of volunteer judges adjudicated all contestants/bands using the following criteria: Visual impact (max. 20 marks); Authenticity (10); Creativity (20); Mas on the Move (10); Clarity of Theme (10); Presentation (20); and Craftsmanship (10) for a total of 100 marks. The order of merit is determined by discarding the highest and lowest score per participant.