Saldenah- River of Mirrors Band Launch

After taking a short break over the Easter long weekend, Toronto Carnival Band Launch Season is back in full swing! On Saturday April 26th,  Saldenah held their band launch for Toronto Carnival 2014 at Kool Haus. As the 2013 defending champions, as well as having 17 overall band of the year titles, there was a lot to look forward to from the theme River of Mirrors (#ROM). Leading up to the launch, anticipation for what Saldenah had in store was heightened  with the release of several teaser videos and pictures.  



Arriving at the venue at approximately 10:15, we were happy to see there wasn't a long line up. Making our way to the door we encountered a discrepancy regarding media access. Although this was a bit disappointing, we were determined not to let that kill our vibe. A separate post on this topic will be posted later.   

Walking into Kool Haus, it was great to see there were a lot of extra touches put into the place for the evening's launch, such as a backdrop, big screens which displayed the theme as well as advertisements from sponsors. Several free give-a-ways for an upcoming party, Private Practice, as well as a boat cruise, were handed out to the onlooking cheering crowd.   

The launch was hosted by Dr. Jay and Eman. Music was provided by Soca Vibes, Jester, Wukup Productions, Invinceable Intl, Soca 101 and Aaron Saldenah. Overall, the music was great, and I happy to see that several of the biggest tunes for carnival 2k14 played during the costume presentation.

The launch started at approximately 12:40am, which was great and overall the earliest start of all the launches so far this season. In total 15 sections graced the runway.

The sections from River of Mirrors! #ROM included:

Aztecah

Solstice

 Arawak Princess

Vortex Reflections

Mythic Warrior

Soca River

Amazonia

Ancient Goddess

Skyfall

Medieval: Royals and Rogues

Beyond Illusions

 

 Cristales

Kaleidoscope

Glimmer

Royals

For More Pictures from the launch check out the album here.

Overall, great job Saldenah on your 2014 presentation River of Mirrors (ROM).
Additionally, we would like to extend congratulations to DesigningDaryl, who designed two sections which were absolutely amazing.
 

For more information check out their website at Saldenahcarnival.com
Registration begins Saturday May 3rd, 2014

Fantazia International- Unleash Your Fantasy

Toronto Carnival Band Launch Season is in full swing! On Saturday April 12th, Fantazia International held their launch for their 2014 Presentation Unleash Your Fantasy at Ricky Richardo's.

The dj's for the evening included D'ENFORCAS, Renegade Squad, Mandigolay, Mad Science and Dj Supreme. The launch was hosted by Bass Line & Winedown and began at approximately 1:00am.

Despite a minor delay due to technical difficulties, six sections graced the runway.

As mentioned within my Band Launch Season 2014 post, there were a few things that I was hoping to see from bands this year and in my opinion, Fantazia Internation did an great job with their presentation for Unleash Your Fantasy. Fantazia International nailed it by including different costume styles, such as monokinis, jeweled bottoms and feathered belts. I also loved many of their color combination choices,  such as the gorgeous pastel purple and baby blue within the Forbidden Fruit section and the nude and coral in Creamsicle. Fantazia also stepped out of the Bikini box within their Den of Sin section, with a black and silver frontline costume that was a sexy cut out one-piece. Apart from the costumes, it was great to see a lot of new faces hitting the runway, and so confidently at that.

In case you missed the presentation, here are the sections:

Forbidden Fruit

 

Lush

 

Creamsicle

 

 

Candy Shop

 

Den of Sin

 

Magic

  

In terms of our favorite sections, it was really hard to pick just one as they were all quite lovely and I believe will appeal to the various tastes of masqueraders in Toronto. From those who want more coverage, to those who want to bare as you dare.

Overall Great job to the Fantazia International design team and all the best in the 2K14 season!

For more pictures, check out our album on Facebook. 

For more information on Fantazia International and their upcoming registration, check out their website at http://www.fantaziainternational.net/

Fantazia International Band Launch

This upcoming Saturday, we will be attending Fantazia International Band Launch. 

We are excited to see what Fantasies are unleashed!

Stay Tuned!

Tribal Carnival- Secrets of the Wingz

On Saturday April 5th, Band Launch Season for the 2014 Toronto Caribbean Carnival was officially kicked off with Tribal Carnival presentation Secret of the Wingz. Held at the Armenian Cultural Centre, a popular band launch destination, we arrived at the venue at approximately 10pm. Being the first band launch of the season, it was great to see many familiar faces (Karabana, Trinidad Carnivals, FeteNet, etc) in attendance who came to cover and show their support for the launch.

Members of the Toronto Masquerader Association (TMA) were also in attendance and distributed brochures that contained informative information on the initiative’s mandate, public participation and involvement and facts on Toronto Carnival. Such as did you know Toronto Carnival generates an estimated $500 million annually into the economy of Ontario or that Toronto Carnival was given as a gift to the city and country from the West Indian community to commemorate Canada’s Centennial celebration in 1967 (Definitely great tidbits and puts things into perspective as to how important the festival is to the city and province both culturally and economically) If you see the TMA at the upcoming launches, make sure to pick up a copy of brochure and stay informed.

Now, back to the review of the launch… what comes to mind you hear the theme secret of the wingz? Feathers, Angels, and hmm Wings! Good guesses, many of these elements were present to varying degrees in the various sections.  The launch officially started at approximately 1:30am, with SKF taking the role as the MC for the presentation.
The nine sections included:

Guardian Angels

Fairytopia

Heavenly Bodies

Secrets

Angel of Lust

Phoenix

Angelic Passion

The Arch Angel

Bliss

Although the launch started later than 12am, the models came out full of energy and did a great job showcasing the sections. The audience cheered and applauded as the models strut, took a wine and chipped down the runway. I also loved that I saw many familiar and new faces gracing the catwalk. Speaking of faces, the makeup artists for the evening included Trish Island Besos and the Nikki D Makeup Artistry.

In terms of the costumes, I liked that the designers chose a variety of bright, bold color combinations.  Additionally, a common element I noticed among the sections were collars. After seeing the costumes in person and having another look through the pictures and video, here are my top three pics:

1.      Guardian Angels

2.      The Arch Angel (Collared Backline)

3.      Bliss

Overall Great Job Tribal carnival and all the best during the 2014 Toronto Carnival Season!
What are your top picks? What did you like about the presentation?

Do you want MOR(E)?
Check out our Facebook page for photo album from the launch

And our instagram page ("Thecollaboblog") for videos.