Carnaval

Despite living in Toronto, I haven't been to many Caribana parades. My first time almost 20 years ago was a sodden mess in the rain. I even skipped out last year's 50th anniversary because of a thunderstorm. This Saturday, I was determined to catch a bit of the festival.

Thinking that the main entrance at Dufferin gate would be packed, I made my way further west to the Jameson bridge down onto Lakeshore. That was a good move. Unfortunately, the parade itself does not start that far. Nevertheless, the parks and street all along the lake was filled with people pic-nicking and enjoying the sun and heat. Eventually, I made it near the grounds of Exhibition place and finally caught sight of the parade. Bright, feathery costumes; fantastical contraptions that needed wheels to be pulled by the wearers; joyful floats; and lots of mobile platforms with huge speaker set-up playing upbeat music kept the crowd jumping and excited.

Afterward, I headed back to Jameson, made my way to Ali's Roti, and got some doubles and plenty of water to quench my thirst. I was thankful for the copious sunscreen as well. Toronto felt like the tropics today.