Victoria to host first-ever Caribbean Carnival this weekend

The weather may have turned chilly in the last week, but this weekend, a little slice of Caribbean heat will be on display at Centennial Square. For the first time ever, Victoria will host a traditional Caribbean Carnival with two days packed with colourful celebration and culture.

The vibrant festivals are an annual staple in all Caribbean nations, as well as places where the diaspora lives. The largest Carnival festival outside of the Caribbean actually takes place in Canada—Toronto’s Caribbean Carnival (popularly known as Caribana) draws roughly 2M tourists to the city each year in August.

Oneil Randall, organizer of Victoria’s i-Land Festival, told Capital Daily that a local Caribbean carnival could be a huge draw for tourists here as well, with people from the US and across Canada planning to attend the festival this weekend.

“It's about time that the capital of BC delivers something of this magnitude,” said Randall. “I know that we have Carnival in Vancouver, but that's not the capital of BC.”

The festival has been in the works since 2021, but they decided this was the year to pull the trigger. Randall says that as the Caribbean population grows in Victoria, many are looking to connect to their homelands but can’t always travel to other cities.

“We have a lot of Caribbean people here that need to experience this without having to be going on a ferry to have this experience,” said Randall. “Being from Jamaica, I really, really, really miss my culture. I came here and it wasn't here.”

Festival attendees can expect brightly coloured costumes, traditional Caribbean music and dance, and some tasty cuisine. But Randall points out that it’s also important to remember that the origins of Carnival festivals came from a much darker chapter of history.

Early Carnival celebrations took place after the abolition of slavery in Caribbean nations in the mid-19th century. Original Carnivals took the influence of masquerade balls held by white colonizers—which Black Caribbeans were often excluded from—and combined the festivities with African traditions. Freedom was celebrated through clothing, music, and hearty meals.

While today’s festivals are filled with fun and dance, the history and effects of the slave trade are an important backdrop to all Carnival festivals. Randall said there will be a history booth in Centennial Square during the fest for people to learn about the background and traditions from different nations.

“Part of the celebration is pretty much the freedom or emancipation of slavery,” said Randall. “So we just want to remind [people] that it’s not just to come out and have a good time, but there's actually meaning behind this cultural festivity.”

He hopes that through the educational portion—and the more joyful aspects of the festival—i-Land Fest can normalize and inform people in Victoria about Caribbean culture and people, who he says can often be misunderstood here.

“As we go around in this community, we deal with subtle racism and racism,” said Randall. “It's just about educating the community and the public about us.

“You know, we as Caribbean people, we have an identity as well. Sometimes people forget that.”

He hopes this festival will bring together both those from the Caribbean diaspora and locals throughout Victoria so they can celebrate as a collective community. So far, he’s found the reception from locals and the city to be overwhelmingly positive and anticipates that the festival will grow larger with each passing year.

“Those who sympathize with us and those who understand our struggles, they will also be able to celebrate with us happily,” said Randall.

Saturday’s festivities will begin with a parade at 11am down Government, ending at Centennial Square where the day’s celebrations will begin at 12pm. Attendees will be able to hear traditional Caribbean music, including calypso, soca, and reggae, from both local and international artists. Randall says the timing of the festival worked out well, given that the UN declared Aug. 11 this year as World Steelpan Day, highlighting the unique music coming from the Caribbean.

There will be lots of tasty food, with jerk chicken, arepas, and roti on offer. There will also be a mini market with vendors selling merchandise and wares.

As the sun goes down, the fun will move to Medusa’s Shot House where the after party will bring a night of dancing—Caribbean-style—until 1am.

“One of the intentions behind the after party is that our people—we party and we party in a particular way,” said Randall. “It's going to be that vibe of back home.”