Montreal Carimas Festival kicks off June 9

After being cancelled last year, the Montreal Carimas Festival is back in full force, ready to celebrate their 50th edition beginning on June 9. 

The festival will have four events which include two pageants – one for pre-teens on June 9 and another for teens and young adults on June 22. Petit Carimas, a junior carnival for children will also be happening however, that date is to be determined.

The festivities will continue July 6 with a street parade followed by Carimas Sizzle to cool things down later that day.

Montrealers should expect, “A lot of energy, a lot of vibrance, a lot of colors, a lot of costumes,” said Jason Forbes, president of the YUL Cultural Association.

“This year, we’re looking at inviting members from the African community. We’ve always had the Haitian community always involved, so we’re definitely going to be bringing three groups from the Haitian community to be involved this year, as well as, we’re looking at the Chinese to bring some of the dragons and show that on the road as well,” said Forbes.

14-year-old Desteeny, winner of the pre-teen pageant in 2019, is looking forward to attending this year’s event and inspiring other young girls to dream big.

“There are so many little girls whose their dreams to be a princess and my dream was to be [a princess] and I become a princess when I win this. So I was so excited. I feel like I can aspire like those little girls,” said Desteeny.

“We want to be able to represent our cultures across the islands that we represent here in Montreal,” said Cynthia Waithe, vice-president of the Caribbean Coalition Network of Montreal.

This year’s event is expected to be unlike any other but for that to happen, the groups are asking help from the community, as they need more volunteers for the event, as well as a $75,000 fundraising goal.

“Going forward for the next five years, we’ll be putting that investment back into carnival to make sure that next year we don’t have to be in this position again,” said Waithe.

The 2024 Carimas Festival takes over from the Carifiesta Parade organized by the Caribbean Cultural Festivities Association. The Caribbean parade was cancelled last year because the City of Montreal denied the organizers funding of about $30,000. 

The city official responsible for the file said organizers of Montreal’s Carifiesta festival and parade did not meet certain criteria for funding in 2023.

This year, the CCNM secured a $30,000 grant from the City of Montreal to host their festival, but the organization still needs another $75,000 to help cover the costs of creating the costumes and floats, as well as to support youth involvement, accessibility and community outreach.

“Montreal is so diverse with so many different countries, but the same thing is that we have so many different similarities, no matter where you come from,” said Forbes.