2011 Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival

I went to the 2011 Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival parade on Saturday. Under different organizers it was formerly known as Caribana.

I really like the colourful costumes that everyone wears. But, even though the name and organizer the hiccups in the parade didn't.

The big turn off for me last year was the 10-15 minute wait between the floats being pulled by semi trucks. I'm not sure what the delay was. I heard a rumor that some of the manhole covers along the route were missing, but I'm not sure how accurate that info was. All I know that it was really, really annoying.

This year I decided to show up a bit later. The parade was officially supposed to start from the C.N.E. grounds at 10:00 and make it's way westbound along Lake Shore Boulevard. I figured if I showed up along the western end of the route I should catch most of it.

I rode my bike down and set up camp on the south side of the street a bit west of Jameson Avenue. When I got there that area was pretty much void of spectators.

After waiting for a short time an older gentleman came up to me and asked if he has missed much of the parade. Having only arrive a little while earlier I wasn't completely sure. But, being it was only around noon I told him that they were probably just behind schedule.

At that point I had only seen floats for the NDP and Liberal parties go by. Not long after a few OPP vehicles came by with officers and other volunteers handing out small, colourful flags with their logo on it.

After that it was the Big Wait.

I believe it was at least an hour before the next semi pulling anything behind it came along. By that time Don (the gentleman I had met) was long gone. I was sitting next to this girl who had got there at 10:30. It was her first time to the parade and I'm sure she wasn't very pleased at this point either.

We saw one of the big trucks coming round the bend along the Lake Shore. But, for some reason it stopped at the Jameson Avenue pedestrian overpass. We waited... and waited... and waited. I don't know how long it was there. But, it was pretty annoying.

After who knows how long it finally started again. Later on I found out from one of my friends who had been watching it on TV that the trailer that the truck had been pulling didn't fit under the bridge. I guess whoever decorated it out too much stuff on it and made it too tall.

Now I don't know whose fault that was, but come on now... you can't even get something like that right? If you want to know how to pull off a great parade take some cues from the organizers of Pride. Now that's how it should be done.

Great music, enthusiastic participants, floats coming one right after another make for a happy group of spectators.