BY STEPHEN WEIR
First of all, Toronto Caribbean Newspaper wants to put down a rumour that raged through the city a couple weeks ago; Machel Montano was NOT in Toronto, and if he secretly was, he didn’t show up at the New D’Regulars costume launch. Pity; he missed a good show!
The last costume launch of the season was held in Scarborough at the Spade Nightclub. The day began at 10 am, with a Caribbean seafood breakfast, and ended with an evening of entertainment including a costume fashion show and musical performances with legendary acts like Moses Revolution, minus Moses who was unfortunately hospitalized the day before the launch.
Michael Williams has been fielding competitive Mas bands for Caribana since the early seventies. This year, his D’Regulars will be a non-competitive band, and they are dumping the scanty, skimpy costumes that most bands promote each year. “We put dignity into our designs” he said. “We are a Big People Mas band, and we are making costumes that people of all sizes will be comfortable to go down the road in.”
“I don’t know how the Machel rumour started,” said Williams, “but I can assure you he was NOT there. We had a good size crowd, but I would have known if he had bought a ticket.” We can confirm that the Trinidad star was performing in St. Kitts and then California while D’Regulars were holding their costume launch.
“The theme for the band launch was Straight Out of Africa, as a tribute to Ooni King Adeyeeye Babatunde Ogunwusi of Nigeria, who will be in Toronto to cut the ribbon with me at the start of the big parade!” says Williams.
