page_title: Caribana
section_title: Grand Parade
hierarchical_section_title: Caribana / Events / Grand Parade
caption_attribution_description: caribana parade 2009
context_page_description: The Toronto Caribbean Carnival, formerly and previously called Caribana, Toronto Caribbean Carnival, Scotiabank Caribana, Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival, Peeks Toronto Caribbean Carnival Toronto Caribbean Carnival is a festival of Caribbean culture and traditions held each summer in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a Caribbean Carnival event, that has been billed as North America's largest street festival, frequented by over 1.3 million visitors each year for the festival's final parade and an overall attendance of 2 million. The entire event, which is one of the first Caribbean Carnivals along with those in New York City, Notting Hill and Boston to be held outside of the Caribbean region, brings in over one million U.S. citizens to Toronto and over $400 million into Ontario's economy, annually.
  The 2020 in-person events were cancelled because of the global COVID-19 pandemic; consequently, it will take place in a Virtual Format starting on July 3,2020.
context_section_description: While the Caribbean Festival holds events over several weeks, the culmination of the Caribana event is the final weekend which is punctuated by the street Parade of Bands. This weekend traditionally coincides with the civic holiday in August. The street Parade of Bands consists of costumed dancers (called "Mas players") along with live Caribbean music being played from large speakers on the flat-bed of 18 wheeler trucks. Much of the music associated with the event, such as steel pan, soca and calypso. Floats can also be found which play chutney, dancehall and reggae music.
  Band leaders start preparation for the following year, the day after the parade ends. As of 2017, Whitfield Belasco has led a band since his brother recruited him from the Trinidad Carnival to help organize the first Caribana in 1967.
  The bands are the most important part of the main Carnival parade. The bands are actually in competition with one another during the parade. They must pass a judging spot which will rate each band section for its costume design, the energy of masqueraders, the creativity of presentation and so on. Work on the costumes begin soon after the previous year's celebration and usually takes one full year to complete all of the costumes. Bands typically dance to soca. A King and Queen of the Band is also judged, and winning is considered claiming the biggest prize of the festival.
  In the 1970s, the parade route originally followed Bloor and Yonge Streets ending at Toronto City Hall concluding with a concert at Nathan Phillips Square. In the 1980s, the parade ran along Bay and University Avenue. Since 1991, when the parade shifted to Lake Shore Boulevard into Exhibition Place, barricades were introduced to separate the spectators from those playing mas
caption: Caribana festivities culminate with the Parade of Bands during the civic holiday in August.
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