Joel ‘Connector’ Davis launches ‘Artiste On A Mission’

Joel ‘Connector’ Davis launches ‘Artiste On A Mission’

By Lincoln DePradine Joel Davis, the Trinidad-born entertainer whose stage name is “Connector’’, always has demonstrated a commitment to elevating culture through his leadership and promotion of various initiatives. They have included the “Empowering Youth Showcase’’, organized by “Connector Music’’, aimed at building the confidence of children interested in pursuing careers as entertainers. Davis also […]

Caribbean diaspora played key role in coronation

Caribbean diaspora played key role in coronation

Four members of the United Kingdom’s Caribbean diaspora played a key role in Saturday’s coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla. Baroness Floella Benjamin, who was born in Trinidad and Tobago, carried the Sovereign’s Sceptre ahead of the King’s arrival. “It was a truly magnificent experience carrying the Coronation Sceptre with Dove, which represents […]

FACE working to empower Black Canadians to build generational wealth

FACE working to empower Black Canadians to build generational wealth

  The Federation of African Canadian Economics (FACE) has launched a study to investigate the factors that are likely impacting the decisions of Black Canadians living in Quebec to invest in pensions, mutual funds, savings, and the stock market. The study is uses data from Statistics Canada and other national and private databases, along with […]

UWI Toronto Benefit Awards was “a great evening filled with joy and warmth”

UWI Toronto Benefit Awards was “a great evening filled with joy and warmth”

Scotiabank increases annual sponsorship to $100,000 By Lincoln DePradine Bank of Nova Scotia, which has been operating in the Caribbean for 133 years and has been supporting a University of the West Indies (UWI) scholarship, is increasing funding for the students’ study program. “We are with you; we always are,’’ Scotiabank’s Anya Schnoor said Saturday […]

Scott Joplin’s “Treemonisha” – World premiere in Toronto in June  

Scott Joplin’s “Treemonisha” – World premiere in Toronto in June   

In 1911, legendary ragtime composer Scott Joplin created an opera unlike anything that had come before. Treemonisha is one of the few live performance pieces about the immediate post-slavery era written by a Black person who lived through it. Joplin was never to see Treemonisha receive a full production in his lifetime, and it survives […]

Tribal Carnival and Carnival Nationz – launch with stunning costumes

Tribal Carnival and Carnival Nationz – launch with stunning costumes

  By Stephen Weir Toronto was buzzing with excitement over the weekend as two of the city’s biggest masquerade bands, Tribal Carnival and Carnival Nationz, held their highly anticipated costume launches. On Friday night, the Grand Luxe hall was transformed into a magical wonderland as Tribal Carnival’s sold-out event with the theme “Once Upon A […]

Radio 790 Break Dance Contest marks 40th anniversary

Radio 790 Break Dance Contest marks 40th anniversary

Brampton will honor the achievement with The Canadian Break Dance Community Builders Awards By Stephen Weir Was it really 40 years ago that people in Brampton first witnessed a break dance contest?  Yes, sir. And to mark that important momentous occasion in Hip Hop history, some of the originals are back to do it all […]

Walshy Fire features in PBS documentary

Walshy Fire features in PBS documentary

This month PBS launched a 10-minute episode of American Masters: In the Making, a digital docu-series featuring Jamaican American Walshy Fire. The episode is aptly titled, “Walshy Fire: Pull Up.” Walshy Fire, who grew up in Miami and whose real name is Leighton Paul Walsh, is a Grammy-winning DJ, MC, record producer, and one-third of […]

Senate to hold hearings on racism at human rights commission

Senate to hold hearings on racism at human rights commission

The Senate will launch a study next week probing complaints of racism at the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC). Sen. Thomas Bernard, deputy chair of the Red Chamber’s human rights committee, said that ever since it was first reported complaints of workplace discrimination made by Black and racialized employees of the CHRC, she’s been hearing […]

Harry Belafonte dies aged 96

Harry Belafonte dies aged 96

Harry Belafonte, the singer, actor and civil rights activist who broke down racial barriers, has died aged 96. As well as performing global hits such as Day-O (The Banana Boat Song), winning a Tony award for acting and appearing in numerous feature films, Belafonte spent his life fighting for a variety of causes. He bankrolled […]