By VJOSA ISAIStaff Reporter

Toronto’s Caribbean Carnival Parade may be for adults, but kids wanting to join in the colourful costumes, lively music and vibrant tradition don’t have to miss out.

This Saturday, kids can enjoy their own Junior Carnival Parade and Family Day in Malvern. The parade will begin at 11 a.m. in the parking lot of the Malvern Community Centre at 30 Sewells Rd. and end at Neilson Park.

Organizers are expecting an even bigger turnout to last year’s rough count of 2,000 guests. They previewed the parade at Malvern Community Centre on Tuesday afternoon, with 102 children in costume from 14 “mas,” or masquerade, camp. The youngest mas player this year is seven months old.

The kids wore costumes ranging from Gold Spiked Dragon and Elusive Unicorn to Frolicing Fairies.

Sections of the parade will have various African themes, such as the Victoria Falls of Zambia and the Serengeti.

IMAGES:

Young Mas dancers show off their costumes in Malvern Town Centre. Mas came out of celebrations held by former slaves in Trinidad on Emancipation Day (Aug. 1, 1834) after Britain banned slavery in its Caribbean colonies. (NAKITA KRUCKER / TORONTO STAR)

Dancers in the Junior Carnival Parade’s preview walk through the Malvern Town Centre on Tuesday. Organizers of the Caribbean Carnival Parade organized the parade for kids to learn about the colourful costumes and dances associated with “Mas” (short for Masquerade). (NAKITA KRUCKER)

Roots and Branches, one of this year’s 14 bands, perform their dance “All Aboard and Float” on Tuesday. Each band’s costumes are designed along a similar theme — and sometimes have names of their own. (NAKITA KRUCKER)

A dancer in a feather-lined costume stands at the Junior Carnival Parade preview. About 600 kids are expected to dance as part of the Parade on Saturday—compared to about 4,000 adults for the Grand Parade. (NAKITA KRUCKER)

One of the smallest dancers peeks out to watch performances at the Junior Carnival Parade preview. The youngest dancer at Tuesday’s preview was seven months old. (NAKITA KRUCKER)

A face-painted Mas dancer peers into the camera. About 102 kids showed up for the Junior Carnival Parade preview on Tuesday and performed in front of roughly 500 people. (NAKITA KRUCKER)

For more on this story go to: https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/07/12/for-kids-caribbean-carnival-starts-with-the-junior-parade.html