New band Sunlime presenting Tribes B.C. on April 29

It is always exciting to hear about a new band, and for 2016, there are a few participating in Toronto Carnival. 

Niles (Whitey) Koski told us the people making up Sunlime have built mas for Borokeete, Callaloo, Saldenah, Mas Toronto and Connections. Their longest duration of building mas was with Callaloo.

Band leader Dwayne Gunness is the primary designer for Sunlime and he sources all of their material and supplies to build the costumes. He has built mas for all of the above mentioned bands.

They have two key organizers and builders, Shelly Sonnilal and Michelle Alburo, who are younger and bring the energy and enthusiasm that all bands require and appreciate. They have built mas for all of the above bands except for Borokeete.

Sean Williams and Niles (Whitey) Koski are the longest standing members after Dwayne. They also have built for all of the above bands except for Borokeete.

“We take pride in building all of our costumes from scratch and have established a reputation for building costumes of extremely high quality and comfort. By the end of the road, our costumes still represent what we presented at our launches and at the beginning of the various parades that we have participated in, and our masqueraders are still comfortable in the costume” said Niles (Whitey).

Sunlime has a core group of 25 people and are very family and friend oriented. They go to many events/fetes/boat cruises as a group, and while they work hard, they also make sure to find the time to enjoy what Toronto Carnival has to offer each year.

The theme Tribes B.C. is promising for mas, so we look forward to the costumes. 

Durham Mas band launch 2016, Festivals of Nations

Forget the flurries that hit today. Carnival is in the air, it's band launch season! Durham Mas kicked it off with their Festivals of Nations launch at the Markham Convention Centre.
Showtime started after 11:30.

This is the 2nd year for Durham mas, and Trini-in-Toronto says the launch didn't come off like some "small band" presentation. They were well organized, started at a reasonable hour, and they had some outstanding sections. The convention centre was a nice venue with good lighting. The launch was really well attended, its nice to see other band leaders in the crowd supporting each other.
Whoever was in charge of coaching their models did a fantastic job. Almost every section took their time, posed and displayed their costume while still dancing and having fun.

You can get registration & pricing info on their Website.
 

Running Of The Bulls 

Ubuntu

Kudos to the designer for giving us colourful African inspired costumes. Big thumbs up for the headwear (above) and roped top (below). That's what we're talking about!!  Even the men's pants are well designed to the theme, certainly the right option instead of board shorts.

 

St. Patrick's Day "Trini Style"

Holi

I was pleased to see a "sari shoulder" on these, and silver Indian bells in the waistbands and pretty hair jewellery. The peach and royal blue look so striking together. The guys costume is also properly done. 

     

Gems of Spice Isle

Mardi Gras

I like how both costumes are designed in Mardi Gras. The mirrored silver is different and works well with the blue and yellow.

 Festival of Lights

 Day of the Dead

Bound to be a popular section with all that hot pink with naughty black. Several options to choose from, including a corset and monokini. Dead never looked so sexy!
When you portray a Day of the Dead character, your makeup, which was done so fantastically here by Nikki D, can't be an afterthought.

Scotiabank confirms they have dropped Toronto Carnival sponsorship

Bank of Nova Scotia confirmed that it will no longer be the title sponsor for Nuit Blanche, the annual all-night art crawl in Toronto. It was not the only sponsorship that the bank has jettisoned.

Scotiabank has also ended its support for three other local events: BuskerFest, a summertime festival of street performers in Toronto; the Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival; and the Scotiabank CHIN International Picnic, a free multicultural picnic also in Toronto.

The decisions came after a review of its sponsorships that the bank conducted earlier this year. Last year, the company spent more than $25-million on “community events,” or local-level sponsorships in the Greater Toronto Area, including the four that have now been dropped. Organizers were informed of the decisions in February.

Scotiabank had sponsored Nuit Blanche since it was created in 2006; Buskerfest since 2000; Caribbean Carnival since 2008; and CHIN Picnic since 2009.

“As with any business, we review our investments, including our sponsorship partnerships, on a regular basis,” Scotiabank said in a statement. “Arts and cultural sponsorships remain an important part of our overall sponsorship strategy.”