This week, as it has (almost) every year since ’67, the Toronto Caribbean Festival—more colloquially, Caribana—comes to town. Expect more than a million colourful party-goers from Drake’s ex BFF LeBron James to the Mayor herself Olivia Chow to flock to North America’s largest festival in Toronto’s downtown core. Thursday’s big kick-off, where you’ll see the 20-foot-tall fabulously elaborate costumes competing for this year’s title honours, is The King and Queen Band Show at Exhibition Place. More than a dozen events—parties, parades, performances, dinners and brunches—fill the next five days in Toronto until the party crescendos with the Grande Parade. In the meantime, Zoomer picks its can’t-miss spots to get the most and best of this year’s festival.
A smiling young woman in carnival clothes at the Toronto Caribbean Festival, a famous annual event in the Toronto. PHOTO: Roberto Machado Noa/Getty Images
SEE: New this year, Brunch and Beautiful is the festival’s much-anticipated inaugural party. Across six acres of the Exhibition’s gorgeous landscaped gardens, guests will sip mimosas with their French toast and pancakes all while soca and reggae score the swank event. The festival’s got ample daytime events —perfect for those of us who’d rather enjoy the sunshine rather than stay out all night—including the always-fabulous Daylit at Cabana Pool Bar, where some 5,000 poolside partiers are no doubt psyched to see the tktkt Dominican-American rapper Fabolous perform on August 1st. The next morning, Carnival & Coffee at The Well’s patio might perk partiers up for Soca Sensation on Sunday, the all-white daytime dance party at The Pint in the Entertainment District. Or, hop aboard the Empress of Canada and head out onto the lake for The I Love Soca boat ride along the harbour front, and some cooling lake breezes.
PHOTO: Per Magnus Persson/Getty Images
STAY: The Toronto Caribbean Festival’s official hotel partner is Hotel X Toronto, the Exhibition Place grounds’ only hotel—though its far more than that, as the 90,000-square-foot playground boasts a five-storey sports complex with squash and tennis courts, gym and fitness studio, the luxurious Guerlain Spa and a heated rooftop pool. Suites are sleek and stylish, naturally, but of course it’s all about the view: Floor-to-ceiling windows offer unbeatable panoramic views of Lake Ontario and the bustling parties below. For anyone seeking a quieter spot to sleep, festival-goers have endless choices of cool boutique hotels to choose from, including the newly-opened Union Hotel on York Street. The boutique hotel prides itself in being hyper-local and used the city as its nexus, from the art on the wall, to the “little library of Giller Winners”, to their adorable stuffed raccoon mascot. A lobby of cool couches and hanging fireplaces where patrons hang out and read coffee table books doubles as an art gallery with revolving shows. They even welcome innovative pop-ups like the one from newly-opened Aman Spa, which set up shop offering high-tech Facial Pilates services for lucky passersby.
Homemade Jamaican patty. PHOTO: Emma Farrer/Getty Images
EAT: In a city that offers Rib Fest, Taco Fest, not to mention the Festival of South Asia and Taste of the Danforth and the Food Truck Festival, obviously the Caribbean culinary community doesn’t disappoint come Caribana. On Queen Street West, eTalk host Tyrone Edwards doubles as a restaurateur at Miss Likklemore’s, which serves upscale Caribbean classics like cheddar biscuits, salt cod fritters and tempura okra as apps, mains like slow braised oxtail and dragon stout short ribs, and sorbets and rum raisin ice creams for dessert. The festival also sells all-inclusive food passes to certain vendors like Calypso Hut, where for $150 bucks up front, you can munch on roti, coconut shrimp and spicy calamari while you’re on the move, washing it all down with a welcome rum punch every time you walk through the door for the duration of the festival – like a total baller. Hardcore Caribbean foodies, meanwhile, should trek out to Patty King Bakery in Scarborough for a frozen box of wholesale Jamaican patties to go to pack in your suitcase to head home.
