Toronto Caribbean Carnival cancelled due to COVID-19

The popular month-long festival formerly known as Caribana, announced Wednesday that it is cancelled this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Toronto Caribbean Carnival is Canada’s largest cultural festival and would have been celebrating its 53rd season this year.

The City of Toronto had already cancelled all events up until June 30 including the popular events like Pride and North By North East but now the bright colourful festival that draws visitors from far and wide including from across the border, and delivers an large influx of revenue to the community annually, will also be cancelled.

“The Board of Directors of the Festival Management Committee has decided that due to the continued developments concerning the spread of COVID-19, the severe public health threat, and global health crisis, the month-long events held in July-August is cancelled,” reads the statement posted Wednesday night.

“It wasn’t an easy decision, and we definitely consulted with the city and our on our partners,” Andre Newell, the carnival’s director of marketing, communications, and partnerships, told CP24.

“Toronto Caribbean Carnival is one of our favourite events,” said Mayor John Tory on Twitter. “While we hope for the best in the war against #COVID19, planning & the need for certainty make the cancellation of the festival sensible though very sad. Fingers crossed we can still celebrate in a non-traditional format,” Tory said.

Newell did tell CP24 that “A non-traditional celebration of the carnival will take place on the weekend of August 1 should the situation change in the upcoming months,” and that “the celebration would go hand in hand with commemorating Emancipation Day in the province, which is observed every August 1.”