Caribana

 ( Official Website ) 

In 1970, the Carnival Development Association (CDA) organized a different festival under the name “Carnival Extravaganza.” The Carnival was created in response to the CCC's Caribana, which celebrated a pan-Caribbean culture and the Black Canadian identity. The CDA’s intention was to make a Carnival which was more “authentic” and reflected Trinidadian culture. In 1974 and 1976, the province turned down an application by the CCC and gave a substantial sum to the CDA.

By 1980, the two organizing committees came together and the CCC once again was the sole organizing committee of Caribana. During this decade, the competing interests of the Metro police, city officials, and the corporate sponsors of Caribana threatened to overshadow the CCC's leadership. For example, in 1985, the police recommended moving the popular Olympic Island picnic event to the mainland but the picnics continued until 2009.

In 1991, the Caribana parade was moved to Exhibition Place and Lakeshore Boulevard. Previously, participants jumped up and played mas down Yonge Street or University Avenue on their way to the Toronto Islands.

As the festival became a permanent annual event, the festival organization became dependent on borrowing money from the City of Toronto prior to the festival, to be repaid out of festival profits (if any) afterwards. By 1992, the festival had built up a debt to the City. The City of Toronto forgave the entire outstanding debt after the 1992 event. The same year, Caribana developed a new partnership with Toronto-area hotels. In 1993, the organization fired its operating chief. Following Sean Combs's performance in 1997, many observers raised concerns regarding cultural retention and festival organizers' moral-cultural responsibility. At launch in Nathan Phillips Square, Premier Bob Rae calls the event a "beacon of hope" for all Canadians, as a symbol of racial harmony. "Carry a Can to Caribana" launched, in support of Daily Bread Food Bank. With attendance down, the board chair blamed the federal and provincial tourism ministries for not funding their American advertising campaign.

In 1997, the bandleaders threatened to boycott the parade if they were not paid for the year’s previous festival and provided with the necessary seed-money to fund production for 1997. The bandleaders were organized under the Ontario Mas Producers Association (OMPA) and the Toronto Mas Makers Association (TMMA). The OMPA would become the Toronto Mas Band Association (TMBA) in 2000.

By the early 2000s, several organizations formed which represented different groups involved in Caribana. The TMBA oversaw the making and promotion of mas bands and represented their interests. The Ontario Steelpan Association (OSA), organized in 2002, did the same for the steelpan musicians. These associations, which also included the Ontario Calypso Performing Artistes (OCPA), formed in 1981, became key stakeholders in Caribana.

In 2001, the City of Toronto granted permits for the TMBA to organize the parade. In 2002, the parade and king and queen crowning were also organized by the TMBA. The following year, the CCC was again the sole organizer of Caribana’s events.

In September 2004, after the 37th festival, the consul general of Trinidad and Tobago worked with Caribbean Cultural Committee to increase support from the business community; the committee received around that year from the national, provincial, and city governments, but it cost about twice that to run the festival.Doyle-Marshall, William,

[https://web.archive.org/web/20070926231823/http://www.guardian.co.tt/archives/2004-09-15/bussguardian6.html "The festival for all – Envoy targets Board of Trade to boost Caribana"], ''The Trinidad Guardian'', September 9, 2004. In 2006, the City of Toronto government, unsatisfied by the CCC's financial audit report, invited the TMBA to apply for funding to operate and manage Caribana for 2006. In the end, a city-appointed committee, the Festival Management Committee (FMC), in arrangement with the CCC board members, agreed to organize Caribana for one year. The proposed structure of the FMC’s board of directors was to include: two representatives from the TMBA, one representative from the OSA, one representative from the CPA, and seven additional members chosen by the festival’s stakeholders, including the CCC. The Caribana Arts Group (CAG), which succeeded the CCC in 2005, applied but was denied funding to resume its organization of Caribana. In 2006, the FMC board included two members of the CAG; however, both representatives withdrew from the board in 2010.
     

Due to an ongoing dispute about the ownership of the trademark "Caribana," the 2006 festival was promoted as "the Toronto Caribbean Carnival (Caribana)". In 2009, the festival was advertised as the "Scotiabank Caribana Festival" which resulted in a trademark lawsuit from CAG, as Caribana was trademarked in 1977, following unsuccessful attempts to reach a licensing agreement. As the successor organization of the CCC, the CAG is the trademark holder to "Caribana." Following the settlement of the trademark infringement in 2011, the festival’s name was changed to "Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival." The name changed to "Toronto Caribbean Carnival" in 2015 when Scotiabank discontinued their sponsorship.

In 2019 UNESCO the Canadian Commission officially recognizes the festival and names it a Cultural heritage property.