Three weeks filled with reasons to jump up! at the Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival

New events, new locations, new supporters

TORONTO, June 1, 2012 /CNW/ - The countdown is on for the Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival. The Festival Management Committee is preparing for Toronto's 45^th annual Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival, which will run from July 17, 2012 to August 5, 2012, and once again bring the culture of the Caribbean to Toronto. The official launch will take place on July 17, 2012 at 12:00 p.m. at Toronto's Nathan Phillip's Square, where dancers, musicians, and calypso singers will get the city into the Carnival mood.

"There are a number of new and exciting events lined up this year and we've also moved a couple of the events, like the children's parade and the international Rugby Match, to new locations to accommodate a growing audience," said Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival CEO Denise Herrera-Jackson. "And this year we're making sure that every event that we manage donates to a different community charity."

The Toronto waterfront Carnival parade, taking place on August 4, 2012, is still the largest outdoor event in Canada. Parade attendees have the option of making it an all-nighter this year, with the new Fish Fry at Ontario Place which will take place from 10:00 p.m. - 4:00 a.m. The following morning kicks off the food festival which includes a lime and breakfast on Ontario Place's South Beach followed by a retro J'ouvert. The Caribbean-style parade party will have Bahamian Junkanoo, French Creole Kompas and Zouk, and Grenadian ShortKnee performers.

"The Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival is an ongoing expression of Toronto's multicultural community and has been so for more than 40 years," said John Doig, Scotiabank Senior Vice-President, Toronto Region. "As Canada's most international Bank, with operations in 27 Caribbean countries, supporting Canada's largest cultural festival since 2008 has been a natural fit for us at Scotiabank and we are delighted to be a part of this exciting tradition in Toronto again this year."

Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival events include:

• Junior Carnival Parade - July 21, 2012: The first big event, the Junior Carnival Parade, will take place at Downsview Park. Think of it as a junior's version of the big parade.  In 2011, over 2,000 children performed for the judges and played Mas along the streets of the Jane Finch corridor. Downsview Park, better suited to handle the growing number of children taking part, is the new location of the parade.
• Festival Cup Match - July 21, 2012:  Sport fans will want to watch the Canadian Rugby League take on the Jamaica Rugby League at Lamport Stadium. The Canadian team is the defending champion from the 2011 matchup. Game starts at 7:00 p.m.
• The Annual Gala - July 27, 2012: The Annual Gala, a dress up affair to honour the rich history of the festival and to sample the Caribbean arts, will take place at the Liberty Grand Ballroom on the CNE grounds.
• Monarch Contest - July 28, 2012 and All-Star Showcase - July 31, 2012: Many of the world's best Calypso performers will show their stuff at the contest and the showcase taking place at Harbourfront.
• The King and Queen Contest - August 2, 2012: Each year this popular contest proves to be a sold-out event. Lamport Stadium has been reconfigured to allow for an expected 20,000 spectators - up from 11,000 last year.
• Pan Alive - August 3, 2012: This huge battle of steel pan orchestras will take place at Lamport Stadium.

"Our corporate sponsorship base has expanded this year," continued Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival CEO Denise Herrera-Jackson. "Scotiabank is of course our title sponsor and CTV, CP-24, the Toronto Star and Sway Magazine continue to be our very generous and supportive media partners. We have added El Dorado Rum as the official presenting sponsor of our Gala; FLOW radio is back and is taking a bigger role with the festival.  We have just added WIN TV and WIN Radio --a popular Caribbean radio and television station based in Trinidad -- as our Caribbean media sponsor and will be live streaming the parade back to Trinidad."

For additional event times and locations, please visit: www.torontocaribbeancarnival.com.

About Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival

The Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival is an exciting three-week cultural explosion of Caribbean music, cuisine, and revelry as well as visual and performing arts. Now in its 45th year, it has become a major international event and the largest cultural festival of its kind in North America. As Carnival is an international cultural phenomenon, the great metropolis of Toronto and its environs will come alive as the city explodes with the pulsating rhythms and melodies of Calypso, Soca, Reggae, Chutney, Steel Pan and Brass Bands. The Festival Management Committee oversees the running of North America's largest outdoor festival.

Corporate sponsors of this year's festival include: Scotiabank, The Toronto Star, Sway Magazine, CTV, CP-24, FLOW fm, WinTV, WinRadio, El Dorado Rum, The Canadian Federal Government, The Province of Ontario, City of Toronto, Tourism Toronto, The Greater Toronto Airports Authority, Ontario Place, Royal Ontario Museum, Ontario Science Centre, Toronto Public Library, Yorkgate Mall, Liberty Grand, and Grace Kennedy Foods.

About Scotiabank

Scotiabank is committed to supporting the communities in which we live and work, both in Canada and abroad, through our global philanthropic program, Scotiabank Bright Future.  Recognized as a leader internationally and among Canadian corporations for our charitable donations and philanthropic activities, Scotiabank has provided on average approximately $45 million annually to community causes around the world over each of the last five years. Visit us at www.scotiabank.com.

For more information about the programmes and events, please visit the festival's official website at www.torontocaribbeancarnival.com. The Festival Office is NOW located at 19 Waterman Avenue. Contact info: Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone]; Email: [email protected].

For media inquires:

Stephen Weir

Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival Publicist

Phone [phone]

Cell: 416-801-3101

Email: [email protected]

Sheena Findlay

Scotiabank

Email: [email protected]

Cell: 647-628-3501