BY: JELANI GRANT
Five-minutes north of the Pan Am Path the Bac & All Festival was held at The Bentway. Supported by the Ontario Trillium Fund, the festival was created with the intent of demonstrating the historical significance of carnival celebrations through traditional Caribbean performances and explored visions for the future, through new technologies like 3-D Printing and virtual reality.
The event illustrated masquerade culture using recreations of the past, the innovative works of the present, and delicious Caribbean food and drinks. The highlight of the event featured a traditional masquerade of Ole Mas characters led by actor, director, and storyteller, Rhoma Spencer. The multigenerational event explored the historical significance of the carnival season through traditional performance and storytelling. “The reason something like old mas and the traditional characters are so important is because they’re talking about the legacy of slavery,” Friends of the Pan Am Path Executive Director Jade Lee Hoy said.
The festival featured socacize classes by Ayanna Lee-Rivears, a mini mas camp for on-site carnival creations, and artwork by local artists, such as mixed media artist Zahra Siddiqui. During the festival, the crowd was engaged by an interactive music battle card game called Aux God.
Though the game was originally designed for hip-hop and R&B, the occasion teams were divided between Jamaicans and Trinidadians, who mostly selected well-known hits of their respected countries.
The free family event converted the east side of The Bentway into a place where guests could learn about various aspects of Caribbean culture, sharing, and enjoyment for the whole family. The performance engaged the audiences with a recreated performance of Caribbean traditions complete with an upbeat rhythm section by Hornman International. Though the costumes held a traditional mas design, the performance itself touched on relevant issues such as tariffs and social media. “I’ve grown up with Toronto Carnival and Trinidad Carnival and I’ve seen the different aspects of both and I think there is a really amazing opportunity to have some more of the traditional aspects and reimagine some of the future aspects,” Hoy said.
Spencer had already created similar traditional shows in Trinidad and Tobago at the Best Village Theatre. She performed Viey la Cou at the Art Gallery of Ontario earlier in the year to demonstrate the long tradition of mas for enthusiasts who may only recognize mas played during the Peeks Caribbean Carnival, though Spencer said performing outside gives her a more authentic feel. “This feels like the real deal because we’re outdoors, we’re parading on a real road,” she said.
“It is important for us to have this space so that this generation could understand where [mas] comes from,” Spencer said.
In a seamless contrast to the recreation of the past, future visions of carnival were displayed via 3-D printed costumes developed through the Inkwell Project. The project is a joint partnership with SugaCayne Designs and Ryerson University’s Design Fabrication Zone. In addition to the three costumes on display, designer Candice Dixon gave guests a look at two of her new designs. One costume sported glimmering fairy wings with the words ‘freedom’ etched into them. The other carried a creatively paint splattered gown-like skirt.
The Pan Am Path is an 87 km trail, stretching from Brampton to Scarborough, that has connected varied neighborhoods across 13 wards in the GTA with the goal of enhancing and bringing awareness to the public spaces along the path through arts, culture, and recreation. “It’s very important that we create spaces for young people from all different ethnic backgrounds to engage in and also open the conversation for people who know nothing about carnival,” Hoy said.
The projects were on display to demonstrate the harmony between traditional Caribbean carnival costume design and innovative technology at a public space designated for year-round artistic, cultural, and recreational activities. “The Bentway is pleased to be working with Friends of the Pan Am Path to celebrate carnival season with the Bac & All Festival. It will be a fun day of free events and activities,” says The Bentway CEO Julian Sleath. “The mix of both traditional elements, like the masquerade, and innovative technologies and arts, like VR, is incredibly exciting and is exactly the type of innovative community-driven programming The Bentway is proud to present.”
