Thousands turn out to Toronto Junior Carnival Parade
ByJessica McDiarmid / Torstar Network From Brampton Guardian
TORONTO— Rebecca Pooran danced the entire one-kilometre Junior Carnival Parade route, hauling a float that didn’t stop shaking for two hours.
“You have to keep it moving so it can sparkle,” said Pooran, 13, grinning and sweat-slicked as she reached the end of the parade route at Downsview Park around 1 p.m. Saturday.
Pooran’s outfit this year — her ninth — was meant to evoke an Aztec princess. The float she pulled for the length of the parade, a sequined, glittering construction topped with an eagle holding a snake in its mouth, took a crew of family members weeks to build.
But it certainly drew attention, as parents sent their children over to pose for photos with her.
Well over 1,000 youngsters came out for the masquerade, a miniature version of the Caribbean Carnival Grand Parade, scheduled for Aug. 3.
Parents and family members crowded into the assembly area that spread along a quiet, wooded street, putting finishing touches on costumes and painting faces. Trucks loaded with head-high speaker stacks blasted out tunes, each competing with the next, parked perhaps 30 metres away.
Isma Hosein has brought her daughter, Rishana Sookraj, for the past three years.
“It’s part of our culture,” said Hosein. “I try to teach her a bit so she knows.”
Sookraj, 7, grinned from inside her elaborate costume — blue, her favourite colour. “It’s fun, I like to dance,” she said.
Nearby, Dawn Ward kept an eye on her two daughters, Maya, 8, and Rachel, 10.
It’s their second year coming to the junior parade in Toronto though they’ve taken part in similar events in Trinidad, said Ward.
“It’s a part of the culture that they don’t get to see,” she said. “And they love it.”
The parade moves along slowly, with each group stopping in front of judges to perform a dance while family members walk alongside, fixing costumes, handing out water and taking photos.
From a distance, one of the highest floats is the one affixed to Destynee Charles.
A flashing blue circle with red and black birds, it’s easily twice her height. Volunteers had to help her keep it under control on the downward slopes.
It’s really not that heavy, said Charles. It’s just a little difficult to manoeuvre on a windy day like Saturday.
The carnival parades are modelled on the Caribbean tradition, which began in the late 1800s. The first parade in Canada was held in 1967 and has been growing in size and popularity ever since to become intergenerational affairs.
Penne Sutherland has been coming to the junior parade for about 25 years, she said, bringing first her children, now her grandchildren. She’s a section leader, responsible for organizing kids and parents in that group, making sure everything turns out just as the bandleader wants it.
“It’s my passion,” said Sutherland, who starts preparing for the parade in April or so. “It brings joy and happiness.”
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