Caribbean Street Parade. | Photo courtesy of Trinidad and Tobago Cultural Society of B.C.
Experience the culture of the Caribbean without having to buy a plane ticket. The Caribbean Days Festival is a showcase of Caribbean Cuisine and celebration in North Vancouver, organized and presented by the Trinidad and Tobago Cultural Society of B.C.
Yvonne Taffe is part of the committee that organizes Caribbean Days, and is also a member of the Board of Directors at the Trinidad and Tobago Society.
“Our [The Trinidad and Tobago Society] purpose is to foster harmonious relationships between peoples of different cultures,” Taffe says, “people of the Caribbean are descended from a variety of cultures. Our roots are multicultural, so we must respect them all.”
Gold plumage costume. | Photo courtesy of Trinidad and Tobago Cultural Society of B.C.
Of the nine Caribbean Cultural Societies in B.C., the one from Trinidad and Tobago is the only community group to host the event. The reason is simple: they were here first. When the Trinidad and Tobago Society was only a few years old, they were one of the few groups contacted by North Vancouver to provide a backdrop at a celebration for new Canadian Citizens. By the time Societies from other Caribbean countries arrived, the festival had already been going on for a few years, so they already had their own rhythm in running it. Taffe goes on to explain:
“We have often wanted to co-host with them, but one party needs to be responsible for the celebration. If lots of people are responsible, no one is responsible.”
That is not to saw that the other societies are not allowed to be involved.
“The other groups help a lot,” Taffe says, “they volunteer, but they are not part of the official hosting.”
There is cooperation between all the different societies. Each head of the different societies chooses two people to represent them at the BCOCCA (the BC Organization of Caribbean Cultural Associations), a sort of United Nations within BC’s Caribbean population. Things that affect all or multiple countries in the Caribbean or their members here are overseen by the BCOCCA. If there is a hurricane in Jamaica or Grenada, instead of all the societies sending small amounts of relief, the BCOCCA gathers everything and spearheads the relief. This helps foster a sense of unity, which may lead to something else with the societies.
“I think, down the road, we could see the societies merge into one. It is hard to sustain multiple groups when old members pass away, especially when the members come from a place with a small population.”
Multiple cultural groups merging into one is not unknown. There were once nineteen different Greek cultural groups in Vancouver, representing all the different areas of Greece, from Thessaloniki to Crete. Now they have merged into one group.
The Caribbean can be described as a giant mixing bowl for culture, and that is especially true for cuisine. Caribbean cooking has recipes and ingredients from so many different countries and areas that there is no food like Caribbean food. The reason is that there is no typical Caribbean cuisine, since it has been touched by so many different cultures. From colonization, to merchants, to slaves being brought to work on plantations, the people of the Caribbean combined all of the ingredients into their own dishes.
Yvonne Taffe. | Photo by Jake McGrail.
“Caribbean food is most influenced from East India,” says Taffe, “When East Indians were brought over to work on the plantations, they brought some women to cook for them. After the years of Indentured servitude were over, they dispersed over the countries and spread their cuisine.”
Caribbean Days will have many types of food for everyone to try. From Jamaican, Indian and many more, you can sample the different foods of the cultures of the Caribbean here in North Vancouver.
Caribbean Days is on July 26 and 27 at Waterfront Park in North Vancouver. For more information please visit caribbeandays.ca.
