T&T’s High Commissioner to Ottawa, Camille Robinson-
Regis, poses with a young masquerader during Saturday’s
parade in Toronto. Photo: courtesy Herman Silochan

T&T’s High Commissioner to Ottawa, Camille Robinson-Regis, was among thousands of spectators at last Saturday’s ScotiaBank Caribana street-parade in Toronto. In ideal weather conditions, bands paraded before the judges and spectators along the Lakeshore Boulevard route in downtown Toronto.

In what was a keenly contested Band-of-the-Year competition, a mere two points separated the second-placed band from the first. The judges eventually determined Carnival Nationz to be the winner. The band, led by Bryce Aguiton, Marcus Eustace (son of veteran T&T masman, Tedder Eustace) and Dwayne Pitt, amassed 433 points to clinch top berth in the competition.

With the presentation A Tribute To Harold Saldenah—The Golden Years (paying homage to the legacy of his father’s pioneering in carnival productions in the ‘50s -’70s), Louis Saldenah’s Mas-K Club, was second amassing 445 points. Last year’s Band-of-the-Year winners Toronto Revellers, led by Trinidadian-bred NBA star Jamaal Magloire, were relegated to third place with 433 points. The 42nd annual Caribana festival was incident-free, a fact about which its organizers are understandably placed.