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Presented by the Trinidad & Tobago Cultural Society of BC, the Caribbean Days 2012 Festival (July 28-29, 2012) is two-full dayS of festivities featuring an amazing lineup of bands playing Soca, Reggae, Calypso, Latin, African and other international sounds to a large crowd. The event started out on Saturday as a multicultural street parade spiraled its way down Lonsdale Ave. & W. Esplanade in North Vancouver.

Let the Caribbean island music gets you moving. Dance to the rhythm, move to the beat. Performers included Rikki Jai, Gabriel Palatchi, Spirit of the Seas, Queen of Samba, Socacize, Fish, Maffie & Crew, Destiny Band and many more. At the Waterfront Park, right next to the Sea Bus terminal across the Burrard Inlet just north of the City of Vancouver.

VIDEO – Caribbean Days 2012 Carnival Parade

Lonsdale Ave. & W. Esplanade, North Vancouver BC

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The Caribbean Days Festival 2010 may have been organized by the Trinidad and Tobago Cultural Society of BC, but musically, most of the bands that performed at the festival such as Tropitonics, Clyde Shizzle, Out of Many, Maffie & Crew acknowledged reggae, Jamrock and Jamaican jamming as their influence. Tropitonics even sang Bob Marley’s famous No Woman No Cry to the crowd’s delight with a giant beach ball flying around and children in a carousel. It was one big Caribbean party filled with soca, reggae, and calypso beats and a hot parade on Lonsdale Ave. in North Vancouver on July 24-25, 2010. The Caribbean Days Festival 2010 turned out to be largely a family event after all, despite the adult-only Moses Revolution show on Saturday night. See you next year!



Waterfront Park, North Vancouver, BC

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In its 23rd year, the Caribbean Days Festival 2010 is a two-day celebration of Caribbean, African and Latin America music, dance and West Indian culture. It is organized by The Trinidad & Tobago Cultural Society of BC, an organization that promotes cross cultural understanding, acceptance and interaction between peoples of diverse nationalities and heritage. The event takes place at the beautiful setting of the Waterfront Park in North Vancouver with a spectacular view of the city of Vancouver skyline.

The parade is multicultural and has the participation of other cultural groups as well such as Spirit of the South Sea, Shaolin Hung Agar (Lion Dance), Latinos in Action among others. Of course, the Kwhlii Gibaygum Nisga’a First Nations too. There is Parade judging in a number of categories including overall contingent, best Masquerader Costumes etc. Local politicians present are Andrew Saxton, MP, North Vancouver, Darrell Mussato, Mayor, North Vancouver and Richard Walton, Mayor, District of North Vancouver.

This year’s headlining act is Moses Revolution, a ticketed engagement at the Lonsdale Quay on Saturday 7:30PM. The FREE event at the Waterfront Park has a stable of performers such as Kunaka Youth Marimba Band, Queen of Samba, Tanga, Clyde Shizzle, Phase III Steel Band etc. It’s Carnival Time, Reggae Rhythm, Afro Beat and that Jamaican Sound!



Waterfront Park, North Vancouver, BC

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The 14th Dalai Lama is currently in his residence in Dharamsala celebrating his 75th birthday. Thousands have braved the rainy weather to greet him with well wishes in that northern mountainous region in India.

Since he fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed revolt against Chinese rule, His Holiness had lived more than two-thirds of his life in exile. In recent years, his health has declined and his condition had been monitored closely by his followers and those in Beijing. The reason – who will succeed him is of great interest to all.

For at least the last few hundred years, Tibetans believed that their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, was chosen by God and not by mere mortals because a Dalai Lama was reincarnated or had the spiritual being (or soul) of Bodhisattva. The main contention now is that while China claims to have the historical right to finally approve any reincarnation or any other senior Tibetan religious leaders for that matter, Tibetans disagree.

On the other hand, the Dalai Lama could choose his own successor, even among those who are not Tibetans as has happened before in the past when a Mongolian became the 4th Dalai Lama and an Indian became the 6th Dalai Lama.

One thing is for sure. The 14th Dalai Lama felt that he had lived a fruitful life as he recently looked at posters that documented his earlier existence as a child, young man and spiritual leader for the people of Tibet, he commented, “I remember my past and I feel that I haven’t wasted these years.”

An interesting thing about the Dalai Lama and World Cup 2010. Last year, South Africa denied the Dalai Lama a visa to the country over concerns that his visit will shift focus away from the 2010 World Cup. Dalai Lama was invited to be present in an international peace conference in Johannesburg in March 2009 organized by the South African World Cup soccer officials. The meeting was to highlight the first World Cup to be held in Africa in 2010. Because the Dalai Lama was refused entry, the international peace conference had to be cancelled as a number of fellow Nobel Peace Prize Laureates including South Africa’s Desmond Tutu and former president F. W. de Klerk said they would boycott the event in protest. South Africa had strong trading ties with China and was in fact the largest trading partner in that continent.

The Tibetan-style Thrangu Monastery at 8140 No.5 Road, Richmond, B.C. will be opened later this month. This monastery closely resembles an ancient one in Tibet that has been badly destroyed in the April 2010 earthquake.






Dharamsala, India

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