Carivibe fever hits Orléans streets

By James Rubec 

EMC Events - Carivibe was a colourful musical party last weekend, but it was also a great way for communities to share their experience with Ottawa.

After nine years, the stars have aligned for Orléans and the Caribbean Canadian community. This years celebration of everything calypso was not only a party at Petrie Island, but a parade through much of the east end community.

The parade started at St Joseph Blvd & Belcourt Blvd, and headed northeast on St Joseph Blvd. The atmosphere was absolutely electric.

"I know this day is going to go well. This is a community building event where people can get together from all walks of life, cultures, and become one big community," said event coordinator David Mason.

Over 2,000 people lined up along the parade route to be entertained by the Brockville steel band, and the Afro-Caribbean drum group, that together pounded out a smooth Calypso beat.

"We've thought about doing this type of parade for sometime now but this year, the stars aligned and we were able to make it happen," said Mr. Mason. "We were trying to make the event bigger than we had in previous years, but we all (the organizers including Hot 89.9's DJ Mace) live in Orleans. We sat down with Orleans Coun. Bob Monet, and with his help we made it happen."

After the parade, the party continued at Petrie Island, where the bands continued to play. They were followed by many of Ottawa's best DJ's and world-renowned steel band, Salah. 

The Jamaican Ottawa Community Association said Carivibe was an excellent opportunity to expand its membership base, and share Jamaican culture.

"This is an amazing opportunity for us to grow our numbers. The Jamaican Community Association isn't only for Jamaicans but also for people who care about Jamaica, or who just want to learn more about our culture," said Judith Headley the event co-coordinator of the association. The association's parade group was dressed in a mix of traditional and modern costumes with Jamaican colours throughout all of it.

"For me it's a great experience because in the past the association has been part of parades before, but those were just for the community. This one is special because we are all getting together," said Ms. Headley. "Our theme this year is called, 'bridging the gap.' The young kids are dressed traditionally, and 19-20 year olds are wearing more modern clothes, while adults are dressed in traditional costumes.

Mr. Mason and the organizing team said they were happy to hear about the community involvement throughout the parade.

"We did this to celebrate the large Caribbean community, those of Latin origin too.

During the parade we also (had) groups raising money for the continuing causes in Haiti," he said.

jrubec@theemca.ca

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