Carifiesta (french: Carifête) is an annual Caribbean Carnival held in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada. It was established in 1974, and is held in July. The event is coordinated by the Caribbean Cultural Festivities Association, a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

. Carifiesta was established prior to some

Carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

s that take place in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

, for example, Cayman Carnival Batabano. Carifiesta has also been named the largest

North-American North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Ca ...

running

Street Parade. Carifiesta does not celebrate any singular

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

, rather it is meant to celebrate them all coming together. It features culture, music, art, and carnival costumes. Many

people or people of

descendants find that Carifiesta is a way for them to celebrate their heritage away from home.

Events

Parade

The main feature of the carnival is a

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...

along Saint-Catherine Street with people representing various countries in the

Flatbed truck A flatbed truck (or flatbed lorry in British English) is a type of truck which can be either articulated or rigid. As the name suggests, its bodywork is just an entirely flat, level 'bed' with no sides or roof. This allows for quick and easy load ...

s carry disk jockeys playing turntables. Soca music and

calypso music Calypso is a style of Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago during the early to the mid-19th century and spread to the rest of the Caribbean Antilles and Venezuela by the mid-20th century. Its rhythms can be traced back to We ...

are played on speakers. The participants in the parade, dressed in colorful costumes, wave flags, blow whistles, and dance.

Junior Parade

A Carifiesta junior carnival, for kids aged 2 to 16, is held one week prior to the main parade, and is intended to introduce children to Caribbean culture. The day after the main parade, is the Carifiesta Cooldown, held at

Parc Jean-Drapeau Jean Drapeau Park (officially in French: ''Parc Jean-Drapeau'') (formerly called ''Parc des Îles'') is the third-largest park in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It comprises two islands, Saint Helen's Island and the artificial island Notre Dame Isla ...

, which is a family oriented event featuring performances by local and international guest artists. 2017 will be the 5th year that the junior carnival has taken place. The parade officially begins at noon, at the Bill Durnan arena, and ends at Van Horne Park. Carifete 2011

Costumes

The costumes worn at Carifiesta are similar to those of other Caribbean Carnival celebrations. They are designed to show a lot of skin and feature bright colors, beading, and exotic headdresses. Women will typically be seen in bikini-style outfits, covered in gems, beads, and sequins, and adorned with feathered headdresses to match. Male costumes consist of decorated, and colorful shorts, paired with beaded neck pieces. Costumes at Carifiesta vary from the typically skin-bearing costumes, some people will wear costumes with a more obvious theme that will offer more coverage. Some dress in apparel that comes from the era in which their ancestors were enslaved, to call attention to their heritage. Since 2014 there have been more carnival bands doing Jab throwing, oil, mud, paint, ink like its J'ouvert.

History

Carifiesta_2015_-_Montréal_(19228021500)

In 1995 the parade was cancelled to do conflict and gun shootings. In 2010 the parade was cancelled due to conflict, as Henery Antoine and Everiste Blaize disputed how and by whom the parade should be organized. The two promoters were not able to resolve their differences and work together. Several years later they were still unable to come to terms. In 2013 Blaize was again in conflict with Matthew Veloza of the group Montreal Carnival Vibration. Issues arose when their float broke down and no one from the ''Caribbean Cultural Festivities Association'' took responsibility to resolve the issue. The issue escalated When partners where not happy with CCFA. Montreal Carnival Vibration work one more year with CCFA till trouble continued. Matthew left the organization with all partners and sponsors. In 2016 the parade when on with less than 100 participants in costume and less than 10 floats also the organization is financially unstable. The election of Jason Forbes took place in 2018 and he struggled and Work extremely hard to bring to community together. But it was to late with the beginning of the covid pandemic Jason Forbes announced that he will resign on June 1 2021.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Montreal Carifiesta
Afro-Caribbean culture in Canada Black Canadian culture in Quebec Caribbean-Canadian culture Music festivals in Montreal Parades in Canada Festivals established in 1974 1974 establishments in Quebec Carnivals in Canada Black Canadian organizations