Thank You - From Us to You

The Club S.O.C.C.A Board would like to thank all those who supported us this year with the costumed  masquerade band presentation " Mas is Mas", from conception to completion. We would like to thank our partners both in Toronto and Montreal for their support as well as our generous sponsors.

We will be looking forward to hitting the road to Montreal for Carifesta on July 9th, 2011 and participating with High Rollers Production (view costumes on our site- SOCCA Store). So if you haven't got your costume for the next in the series of Canadian-Caribbean  Carnival style parades please do not hesitate in contacting us for further details.

Next stop Montreal......!

Club S.O.C.C.A doing its part in the Ottawa Community

Mayor Jim Watson, centre, shares a laugh with Antoinette Smith, left, and Shelly Sawyers, who were promoting Carivibe, at the opening of the Quality Inn in Thursday.

Photograph by: Wayne Cuddington, The Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa Citizen

 

Thursday June 9, 2011 - Club S.O.C.C.A was proud to be at the opening of the new Quality Inn in Orleans, Ontario. It was a pleasure to be a part of this momentous occasion and show one of our costumes for next week's parade starting at 12:00 noon. 

We would like to thank the new owners and staff for their hospitality during this promotional event. On behalf of Club S.O.C.C.A we would like to wish the new Quality Inn full occupancy.

 

Club S.O.C.C.A - Orleans Festival

Club S.O.C.C.A display
Carivibe booth Orleans, ON Festival

June 4, 2011- Club S.O.C.C.A displayed some of its costumes at the Orleans Festival held at the Shenkman Arts Centre last Saturday. It was a fun filled day of displays, excitement and entertainment for all.

Out Takes - 2011

Costume production from conception to completion takes numerous hours but it is all worth it when you see this:

2011 Launch
Atomic Rooster, Ottawa

Photo Shoot 2011

 

Carnival Arts-A Brief History

Image via WikipediaCaribbean Carnival Arts or 'Mas' making as it is called in this region is a tradition that has been around for  hundreds of years. This tradition can be traced back to Italy where members of the Catholic religion held a costume party prior to the Lent. In keeping with the traditions surrounding Lent the name Carnival came from "carnavale" which loosely translated meant “to put away the meat". As the carnival became more famous in Italy it quickly spread to other European countries.


Modern day Caribbean carnivals are based more on the African tradition where parading and moving in circles through villages in costumes and masks was the norm. The circling of villages was believed to bring good fortune, to heal problems, and chill out angry relatives who had passed into the next world. Carnival traditions also borrowed from the African tradition of putting together natural objects such as bones, grasses, beads, shells, and fabric to create a piece of sculpture, a mask, or costume — with each object or combination of objects representing a certain idea or spiritual force. 

African dance and music traditions transformed the early carnival celebrations in the Americas (including the Caribbean), where African drum rhythms, large puppets, stick fighters, and stilt dancers began to make their appearances in the carnival festivities. 


Carnival fused with the arts offers all of us a dynamic tool for self-expression and exploration, a tool to seek out our roots, a tool to develop new forms of looking at the world and its cultures, and finally, a tool to unite the world, to discover what we all have in common, and to celebrate what makes us different. 

The power and creativity that underlies these art forms has the possibility of transforming the way in which we interact with each other. Therefore join us on June 18, 2011 in Orleans, Ontario for the second annual Carivibe parade and start the transformation.

2011 Theme for Carivibe Parade

Previous Carnival Celebration in Ottawa

2011 theme "Mas is Mas". Choosing such a broad theme was done so that we can be inclusive of all and not restricting anyone to the vision of the design. We have found that although people may have heard of Carnival they are not necessarily sure how are if they can participate. So as our mandate states we are here to help in the education and promotion of a strong Caribbean cultural heritage with a twist, called Carnival.

As the Caribbean Diaspora community living in one of the most multicultural countries in the world we have recognized that  the opportunity to be a part of the true essence of Carnival is to facilitate individuals or groups the ability to a dynamic way of self-expression by facilitating the wearing of traditional pieces that are representative of their cultural heritage or form of Carnival. 

Therefore we are asking members of the Ottawa community that celebrate Carnival/Carnavale/Fiesta/Karneval or whatever you may call it, as a part of their cultural heritage to join us on June 18, 2011 in a show of community spirit and celebration of our similarities.

Related articles

• Montreal's Carifiesta parade back after hiatus (cbc.ca)
• Other Carnival's (thecarnivalesque.wordpress.com)