Jamaicans share in festivals across Toronto

TORONTO:

When hundreds gathered at Union Station – Canada’s busiest, multi-modal passenger transportation hub – on the eve of Emancipation Day for the 11th annual Emancipation Day Underground Freedom Train Ride, they had no idea that the late Jamaican Canadian Louis March would be honoured with a light show.

March, a community stalwart who died on July 20 in Toronto after a brief illness, was one of the organisers of the annual experience.

But, cultural animator Itah Sadu of Blackhurst Cultural Centre thought a fitting way to honour him was to have a drone light show which spelt his name across the sky over Downsview Park, the destination for all disembarking passengers of the Toronto Transit Commission subway train.

A private funeral service was held on July 31, the eve of what would have been his 69th birthday on August 1. His family will hold an “Aseda” (meaning gratitude in the Twi language spoken by the Asanti) celebration with the community on August 25 in downtown Toronto at St Lawrence Centre for the Arts.

As with March, several Jamaicans have been integral to, or featured in, events from August 1 to August 5 – Simcoe Day, a civic holiday – during a period that commemorated Emancipation Day, celebrated carnival and Caribbean culture, and reflected on Jamaica’s 62nd anniversary of Independence.

In its 26th staging of the annual Island Soul, a festival celebrating Caribbean culture over the Toronto Caribbean Carnival, formerly Caribana, weekend, the Harbourfront Centre on Toronto’s waterfront featured several Jamaican artistes, including reggae singer Etana, veteran musician Jay Douglas, guitarist Maurice Gordon, singer Jah’Mila based in Nova Scotia, “dancehall godfather” Johnny Osbourne, and hosted the screening of a documentary film series, “Sounds and Pressure: Reggae in a Foreign Land”, featuring Johnny Osbourne and Nana McLean.

At the height of the golden age of reggae, some of Jamaica’s brightest stars left their homeland behind to shine their light in Toronto, an unlikely hub of Caribbean creativity.

“Sounds & Pressure: Reggae in a Foreign Land” follows the journeys of these icons. This captivating five-part anthology series takes viewers from Kingston, Jamaica, to Kensington Market in Toronto through rare archives and infectious beats to see and hear how reggae made roots in Canada against all odds.

The sneak peek at the Harbourfront Centre showcased two exclusive episodes before the full National Film Board of Canada documentary series launches on August 23. After the film screening, there was a panel discussion with Nana McLean, Johnny Osbourne, and directors Graeme Mathieson and Chris Flanagan.

Meanwhile, there were flag-raising ceremonies in Brampton and Toronto to commemorate Jamaica’s 62nd anniversary of independence.

Organised by the United Achievers’ Club in Brampton, many gathered at the community flagpole at Ken Whillans Square, Brampton City Hall, on August 3.

A day later, the Jamaican Canadian Association held a flag-raising ceremony at the Jamaican Canadian Community Centre. Kurt Davis, Jamaica’s consul general at Toronto, by hoisting the flag, said, “The community is boldly declaring this is our space, we belong, we have achieved. We are not backing down, but we are going forward and upward. We are Jamaicans – we are here!”

This was followed by a service of thanksgiving to celebrate Jamaica’s Independence at the West Toronto Church of God featuring clergy members Bishop Wayne Vernon of the host church, Reverend Germaine Lovelace of St Mark’s Presbyterian Church, Pastor Chris Simpson of Faith Sanctuary, Pastor Betty Cooper of World Deliverance Ministry, and Pastor Adrian Wallace of Philadelphia Seventh-day Adventist Church.

On August 5, the JAMBANA One World Festival celebrating Emancipation Day was staged at Chinguacousy Park in Brampton, Ontario, and drew hundreds of people. It featured the legendary Fab 5 Band, Juno Award winner Kirk Diamond and the Movement of Ahryel, Joshua Lucas, Spexdaboss, Ammoye, the all-female reggae band Rayzalution, DJ Rych Kidd with hosts Master T and Nate.

It is the legacy of the late Denise Jones, who founded Jones & Jones Productions Ltd, with her husband Allan Bucka Jones in 1987.