5 minute read
Festivals this Summer: Edmonton’s Cariwest –
amantha Alexander is bean countries (mostly Jamaica), and S a second generation Edmontonian. She is a marketing professional, working with one of the top accounting and consulting firms in Canada. She is pasthen they come back to Edmonton and find out that there is a festival that celebrates Caribbean culture. Cariwest is a place where people of Caribbean descent can still feel connected to their history and culture. When we asked Samantha about sionate about family, how they ensure that inclusivity refriends and enjoying her life to the mains a part of Cariwest—she had this fullest. Samantha became a part of the to say “This is a hard question only beCariwest community, when she was a cause it is not something that we had little girl, about 37 years ago. to think about. The culture of Caribbe“Cariwest is a Caribbean festival an people has always been inclusive. that was born 37 years ago. The con- Our festival is about enjoyment of life cept was founded here in Edmonton and having a good time. Some people by immigrants from the West Indies, may think that our festival is only for who saw a need to bring their familiar people of colour, but that is a percepculture to the place that they now call tion only. If anyone has ever been to home. Most Caribbean Islands have a our festival, you can see the inclusivecarnival season that lasts for a week or ness in the people that attend.” two, but here in Edmonton, we put on On the biggest challenges they ena three-day festival that includes mu- counter every year and how they have sic, food and vibrant costumes,” said overcome them, Samantha said that Samantha. the biggest challenge every year is Samantha still actively participates funding. “Whether it is through sponin the parade; she also makes cos- sorships or government/city grants, tumes for one of the participating planning is always on a tight budget. bands. She took on a board position Over the past four years we have made back in 2016 and has been there ever more progress with sponsors who since. Her current role is VP and Direc- have partnered with us year over year, tor of Marketing. which is important from a sustainaOn combining Cariwest and every bility perspective, which is one of our other part of her life, she said: “I think main pillars for success. The events about this, as more of how I integrate over the past year during the panCaribbean culture into my everyday demic, with Black Lives Matter, have life, I would say it is with music. Music created an overwhelming amount of is a form of expression and creates a government grants, specific to Blackmood. The mood I feel when listening led organizations which hopefully we to soca is pure—get up and move. So, will be able to successfully access” she I tend to listen to it almost daily. My explained. playlist for working out is soca music” Samantha went further to describe She added. Cariwest as the most colourful, joyful, Samantha thinks that the festival engaging parade in Edmonton. She gives people of Caribbean descent thinks that the parade is an element and people who have travelled to Car- that many people look forward to ibbean countries a place to come to every year. “The parade is an expresand remember. She has met so many sion of being free. The mood and tone people who have travelled to Carib- over the course of the weekend is all
uplifting and Cariwest will always be a festival that embodies this. It is important because happiness in one’s life should not be ignored. Our festival is infectious, you can come to the festival and feel like you can just get up and dance as if nobody is watching”, she said.
The food is not left out, she thinks being able to bring together all the Caribbean restaurants in the city into one central location makes the festival a must attend for the fantastic food.
Then there is the costume, which we just cannot get enough of. When we asked Samantha about the inspiration behind choreography and costumes, this is what she told us: “there is no choreography to the parade elements of our festival. While we do have entertainment that includes various dance groups, the participants in the parade that are in costumes are not dancers, in the sense of being trained, rehearsing, et cetera. You may see the different bands conducting what would appear to be a choreographed routine, but they are simply doing the dance that goes with that song. Think of the electric slide.”
“The costumes!” continued Samantha, “this is my favourite element.” The creativity that comes out is amazing. Leaders of the bands are often influenced by history and current events. Some will take their cues from larger festivals like the one in Trinidad and adapt or change elements to make it their own. Some will come up with a theme of their own and then let the magic begin. You basically have free rein to create whatever you want!”
The biggest highlight for Samantha remains the progress they are making into mainstream Edmonton festival. “It may seem odd to think that a festival that has been around for 37 years, year after year without missing a beat has only seen growth (in terms of visibility) in the last five years. The City of Edmonton now considers us one of the core festivals in the city and with that comes a lot more support, insight, and collaboration, she told Ladies Corner. On what to expect from Cariwest this year—“Our plan is to produce our festival in a hybrid format. There will be a virtual format for everyone to enjoy in the comfort of their homes, there will also be some elements that are in person, that adhere to the AHS protocols that are in place at that time. I do not want to give too much away, as plans seem to change weekly, but what I will say is…. There will be a parade. There will be live entertainment. There will be joy and happiness.”
Cariwest will be held from August 6th – 8th, 2021.
