The Toronto Sun, Sunday, August 1, 1999
They're dancing in the rainCaribana parade rolls on despite cloudburst
The afternoon downpour and the Caribana parade together made Lake Shore Blvd. look like a Caribbean island in rainy season. But the people still came. Even as the summer rain fell in sheets on the Exhibition Grounds, hundreds of thousands of people poured through the Dufferin Gates, determined to enjoy the 32nd annual celebration of their culture. "Everybody's still dancin'," said Steven Baksh, of Toronto. "We have true pride." TWO HOURS LATE The parade began about two hours late as parade marchers in costumes they made themselves milled around the marshalling area waiting for the green light. "They call it 'just now time,' " stilt dancer Kathleen Salvador said. "There's no schedule. You just go now." Along the parade route, people were standing up to six deep as floats boomed island music and dancers trailed behind. Onlookers swamped the parade route to see the stunningly costumed dancers and sway to the rhythmic steel pan artists and the Caribbean rhythms of reggae, soca and calypso. 
Busy vendors could hardly keep up with the demand for jerk chicken, roti, barbecued corn and ginger beer. Fireman Mark Gray said the day's worst injuries were blisters on revellers' feet. Police and ambulance personnel also said the event was free of any serious incidents. And then the rain came. While most stayed along the route between the Ex and Jameson Ave., many ran for cover under a tree or a nearby building. When the rain let up, a mass of revellers moved back towards the parade route, only to return again when the storm whipped up again. "It isn't raining hard enough to ruin my day," one lady yelled to the heavens from a protected protected position. She was answered by even more rain, prompting shrieks of laughter from her friends. "The rain was a little bit of a problem but it didn't really matter," said Lorna Lea-Thorpe, of Ajax, who came for her seventh Caribana parade. "It didn't deter the people." PRIDE IN COSTUMES Meanwhile, many of the costumed participants had to wait more than two hours inside the marshalling area for the show to begin. "We're on West Indian time," said Guyana-born Pat Dinally. It was her 10th parade and she said they never start on time, but that was all right because they had all day. Ronny Desvignes was ready to go in his Explosion of Life costume, which alone was the size of many of the floats. There was no mistaking his pride as he preened over his bird-theme ensemble. A huge parrot emerged from the top of the gold get-up. And other birds like cardinals, mallards and doves sprang from the centre of the meticulous hand-made costume. "We call him Dyno-Ronny," Dinally said. "Explosive is the word for him." As the parade moved along Lake Shore Blvd., revellers shimmied and swivelled to the infectious beat. "I don't know what the dance is called," said Natasha, 16, as she boogied with her mother, Ebony, from Mississauga. "There is no name for it," Ebony said. "We just move to the music." While there were license plates in nearby parking lots from places like Ohio, Michigan and Virginia, not everybody could drive to the parade.
Philippe and Natalie Guitard came from the south of France. "It is very famous," Philippe said. "It's too bad about the rain." Roads, parks and hillsides were jammed with revellers who were jumping up to the Caribbean beat and glittering costumes of the Mas bands and steel bands. But by late afternoon, driving rain and blowing wind drenched the parade-goers and knocked hundreds of umbrellas inside out. Cindy Stater, who drove up the night before from Windsor, says she wouldn't miss the yearly event. "We're here with people from all the West Indies, and all the islands," she said. "It's a tradition." Stater's pal, Lakeysha Edwards, was impressed with this year's attractions. "It's better than last year," Edwards said, scanning the CNE grounds. "There are more bands, more music and more colour." Parade dancers Michelle Meighoo and Suzanne Bojthy, their red and gold costumes drenched, said the rain didn't affect their mood. "It was kind of fun dancing in the rain," said Bojthy, a masquerader with Errol Achue's Explosion of Colour float. "We still had a good time," said Meighoo. "The only problem was having to go to the bathroom." -- With files from Suzanne Ellis and Greg MacDonald
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