Caribana: The 1967 Story, Founders and Archive

Black-and-white photograph of masqueraders in sun-shaped headdresses and patterned costumes dancing along a street beside a stadium

Since

Since 1967

In 1967, West Indian volunteers gave Canada a birthday gift: a Caribbean festival on the streets of Toronto. We are the Caribana Arts Group, the founding organization of Caribana, and we keep its name, its memory and its meaning for the generations after.

Black-and-white photograph of a parade on a city street, masqueraders in leopard-print costumes with feathered headdresses, crowds on both sides

Caribana was a gift

Toronto's Caribbean community raised $46,000 of a $50,000 budget to put on the first Caribana as a gift for Canada's 100th birthday. It was meant to happen once. The city asked for it again. Nearly sixty years later, carnival has become part of who Toronto is.

The full story

Black-and-white photograph of a steelband in matching jackets playing steel pans marked Esso, with onlookers in the foreground — 1967 · Centre Island

Black-and-white photograph taken from above of musicians playing drums on a flatbed truck in a street parade, with crowds along the road — 1967 · Varsity Stadium

Black-and-white photograph of a street packed with people and cars during a festival, with costumed revellers on the left — 1971 · Yonge Street

Black-and-white photograph of a masquerader in a large butterfly costume with spotted wings riding a float along a wet street in the rain — 1976

Black-and-white photograph of a masquerader in a fish-headed costume with huge transparent wings patterned with fish and bubbles — 1980 · University Avenue

Black-and-white photograph of a masquerader in a towering feathered costume with crowds lining a street between tall buildings — 1977 · University Avenue

Colour photograph of masqueraders in blue and yellow sequinned costumes on a road with the CN Tower and city towers behind

Black-and-white close-up of a masquerader in a large star-shaped headdress and white mask blowing a horn, with a drummer behind

Three things we do

Keep the story.
We document Caribana's history, from the emancipation roots of carnival to the founders who brought it to Canada.
Gather the memories.
Your family's photos and stories are part of the record. We collect them, credit them and share them.
Pass it on.
Through the Emancipation Day March and the Caribana Kids Club, we teach the next generation what carnival means.

Road to 60

2027 marks sixty years since the first Caribana. We're marking it by building the community's archive together, one photo and one story at a time.

Be part of the 60th

Your elders are the archive

Got photos from University Avenue, Olympic Island or the mas camp? Stories your parents told about the early parades? Send them to us. We'll credit your family by name and help keep the story for the next generation.

Share your memories

Itstartedwith us!

Caribana was a gift

Three things we do

Keep the story.

Gather the memories.

Pass it on.

Road to 60

Your elders are the archive

From our story bank

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