I must admit that I have never been to Cariwest Festival here in Edmonton, AB. I have always wanted to go to the parade, so this year I marked it on my calendar and committed to the day. Therefore, on the 12th of August, I packed up my SLR, phone, and voice recorder and headed to Jasper Street an hour before the parade was scheduled to start. For personal reasons, being my feet, I chose to hover two blocks before the end of the parade route so that it would be an easy walk over to Sir Winston Churchill Square. After scoping out where it would be best to be able to work with the sun and take photos, I eventually found a spot at the intersection of Jasper Ave and 104 St. And that is where I met Steve Polyak.
Steve Polyak is the Publisher of the Gay Calgary magazine. He was a really nice guy. As we waited for the parade to reach us, we chatted and he enlightened me about his magazine, which led us to talk about drag queens. I was impressed with some of the big names of Queens he had interviewed. Once the parade began, I watched Steve go to work taking pictures like the pro he is. I had never done a photo shoot in a parade, so I forced myself to be a bit braver and get closer to the subjects, and even have them stop to pose for a picture.
It was amazing how big the trucks were that ushered in each group throughout the parade. And most of the trucks weren’t exactly carrying the people, but rather the DJs and sound systems. And with those trucks came the big music, the bright colours, and the party.
As the Soca music echoed between the tall buildings, the excitement of the dancers soared as well. It became an immediate awareness that these beautiful women taking part in the parade had no restrictions of beautiful body images and were confident to put on a costume and go out and have an awesome time. This is the power of women. I loved it!
The main theme of the parade this year was the celebration of multiculturalism and Canada's 150th birthday, while still embracing the Caribian island nations. There were participants representing Jamaica, St. Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados, Haiti, St. Lucia, Dominica, and Grenada. Please forgive me if I left anyone out. Different sounds came at different times. Steel pan drum, Mas bands, Calypso and Regea kept the parade moving forward to a rhythm that felt contagious to join in. The feathers, glitter and flamboyant show cases were really astonishing.
(There was a little girl behind the shield. I'm thinking he was Super Dad)
And being that my main focus is to find the tattoos, I did manage to find quite a few. Have a look at these beauties. You will notice some of these pictures were taken after the parade in the Churchill Square.
Although this was my first Cariwest Parade, it will definitely not be my last. The vibrancy of the music and the people who represent the Carabeen culture are delightful. After the parade, the participants and the crowd moved into Churchill Square and began the second day of the Cariwest Festival. But that my friends is another story.
End
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