By Ombretta Di Dio

The Annual Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival will take place in Toronto, Canada starting on July 17^th and will go on for three weeks, turning the city into an explosion of music and street parades. Formerly known as the Caribana, this event represents the biggest Carnival in North America and it was brought to Canada by immigrants from Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada and Jamaica in 1967. It was born to homage the Canadian Centennial and it was based on the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival. The huge success of the event led its organizers to repeat it every year, making it the symbol of the multiculturalism of Canada, accentuated by all the flavors that can be tasted during the event, by the variety of musical genres that can be heard in the streets and by the amazing number of visual and performing arts.

The main happenings of the festival will be the Junior Carnival and Family Day, Canada versus Jamaica Rugby game, the Annual Gala and, of course, the final Grand Parade.

The Junior Carnival and Family Day allows kids of all ages to join the parade, making sure that even the youngest ones will be able to enjoy and embrace the fun of this celebration.

The rugby game between Jamaica and Canada was introduced in 2011, so that sports lovers would find their spot in the festival as well as fans of arts and music.

Whoever would like to appreciate the Caribbean culture at its best, in a fancy and elegant environment, where a dinner accompanied by fruity cocktails and costume masqueraders take place, can do so by participating to the Annual Gala that will be held at the Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex on July 27^th.

Finally, the celebration will be closed with the magnificent Grand Parade on August 4^th. Masqueraders in wonderful costumes will walk for over 2 miles on Lakeshore Boulevard, to show what required months and months of preparations.

For further information and details about the festival and purchase tickets for the events, you can visit its website