Sandra Promises to Sing Classics at Harbourfront: Calypso Dreams Returns To T-Dot

August 3rd and 4th

Calypso Dreams Returns: Sandra Promises to Sing Classics at Harbourfront

Stalin, Sparrow, Superior, Crazy and Macomere Fifi will also Join Kobotown and Moses Revolution on Main Concert Stage, Friday and Saturday Nights




Two-time Calypso Monarch Singing Sandra says that she will sing a pair of her legendary anthems when she performs in Toronto for the fist time in more than a decade at the Harbourfront Centre's Main Stage, Friday night, August 3, at 9:30 p.m.

“I will keep a few surprises in my bag,” says Sandra “but I am promising to sing ‘Sexy Employers’ [‘Die with my Dignity’] and ‘Voices from the Ghetto’ on the Calypso Dreams Tour. I know my fans want to hear them and I am looking forward to returning to Toronto.”

Sandra also appears in the documentary film, Calypso Dreams, which will be staging an encore performance in Toronto as part of the Harbourfront Centre’s Island Soul Festival, August 3rd and 4th, with a pair of free screenings and free concerts featuring some of Trinidad and Tobago's greatest calypsonians, including Black Stalin, the Mighty Sparrow, Lord Superior and Crazy, in addition to Sandra, and also featuring Toronto's own kaiso legend, Macomere Fifi.

Dubbed the "greatest film ever made about calypso," the award-winning documentary, Calypso Dreams, directed by Geoffrey Dunn and Michael Horne, will screen both Friday and Saturday nights at the Harbourfront Centre's Studio Theatre, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Then come out of the cinema and catch the real deal on the Harbourfront Centre's Main Stage.

On Friday night, August 3rd, the Canadian-based band Kobotown, headed by Drew Gonsalves, will open the show show at 8 p.m. Calypso legends Sandra, Black Stalin, Lord Superior and Macomere Fifi will perform from 9:30 to 11 p.m.

On Saturday night, August 4th, the 8 p.m. show will feature Moses Revolution and the dynamic calypsonian Crazy. Then catch the Calypso King of the World — the Mighty Sparrow — along with Lord Superior and Macomere Fifi, from 9:30 to 11:00 p.m.

All Calypso Dreams events events at the Harbourfront Centre are free of charge.

Harbourfront Centre is located at 235 Queens Quay West, Toronto.  For information, please  call 416-973-4000 or visit www.harbourfrontcentre.com

For a portrait of Sandra, see Michael Goodwin’s profile here: http://www.zoominfo.com/people/Sandra_Dis_16856932.aspx  

Please send out to relevant email lists. Thank you.

A New Book on the History of the Calypso Competitions

Allow me to introduce you to my recently published book The Finalists: A Graphical Look Back At Trinidad And Tobago's Calypso And Soca Monarch Finals (see attachmenmt).

 

"The Finalists" graphically traces the history of Trinidad & Tobago's Calypso and Soca Monarch competitions. For the first time in the history of staging these competitions, researchers, students and lovers of these art forms can find in one place a complete listing of the finalists, their songs, the places they secured in the respective competitions, and in the case of the calypso finalists, the  calypso tents to which each calypsonian was affiliated through the years.

 

The data presented in this book, in the comprehensive manner in which it is presented, can neither be found in the files of the Trinbago Unified Calypsonians Organization nor those of Caribbean Prestige Foundation for the Arts (organizers of these Competitions).

 

"The Finalists" is without doubt an important reference document that should be made available to all interested in this kind of raw data. I strongly believe it will be of great interest to anoyne involved in the calypso business who has a sense of history as far as this wonderful art form is concerned. 

 

I have attached a copy of the book covers and a review of the book by noted Trinbagonian journalist and calypso authority, Debbie Jacob, which is featured in the current issue of the inflight magazine Caribbean Beat.

 

The Finalists has been receiving rave reviews since its initial launch at the Triindad and Tobago National Library earlier this year. Peter Ray Blood, writing in his Bloodline column for the Trinidad Guardian says that "on the subject of publications, one of the better ones I got my hands on for C2K7 was The Finalists…edited by John E. H. Barry. This book is a must for researchers, students and cultural archivists who wish to get their facts and stats correct."  

 

The biggest endorsement, however, comes from the governmant of Trinidad and Tobago with their order of hundreds of copies for distribution to the secondary schools throughout the nation at this time when culture-related activities are more and more focused on as part of the school curriculum.

 

This book is enjoying quite a warm reception in the US as I move from city to city where Caribbean folk who have maintained strong links with the home country have settled.   

 

Please follow the link at the bottom of this page for more information on the book and its author.

 

I thank you and hope you can spread the word about this book that is being described in certain circles as the new bible of calypso and soca.

--
Go To
www.trinbagofinalists.com

Calypso Dreams Returns to Toronto

August 3rd and 4th

Calypso Dreams to Highlight Harbourfront Centre’s Island Soul Festival

Stalin, Sparrow, Singing Sandra, Superior, Crazy and Macomere Fifi to Join Kobotown and Moses Revolution on Main Concert Stage


Calypso Dreams will be staging an encore performance in Toronto as part of the Harbourfront Centre’s Island Soul Festival, August 3rd and 4th, with a pair of free screenings along with a pair of free concerts featuring some of Trinidad and Tobago's greatest calypsonians, including Black Stalin, the Mighty Sparrow, Singing Sandra, Lord Superior and Crazy, and also featuring Toronto's own kaiso legend, Macomere Fifi.

Dubbed the "greatest film ever made about calypso," the award-winning documentary, Calypso Dreams, directed by Geoffrey Dunn and Michael Horne, will screen both Friday and Saturday nights at the Habourfront Centre's Studio Theatre, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Then come out of the cinema and catch the real deal on the Habourfront Centre's Main Stage.

On Friday night, August 3rd, the Canadian-based band Kobotown, headed by Drew Gonsalves, will open the show show at 8 p.m. Calypso legends Mighty Stalin, Singing Sandra, Lord Superior and Macomere Fifi will perform from 9:30 to 11 p.m.

On Saturday night, August 4th, the 8 p.m. show will feature Moses Revolution and the dynamic calypsonian Crazy. Then catch the Calypso King of the World — the Mighty Sparrow — along with Lord Superior and Macomere Fifi, from 9:30 to 11:00 p.m.

All Calypso Dreams events events at the Harbourfront Centre are free of charge.

Harbourfront Centre is located at 235 Queens Quay West, Toronto.  For information, please  call 416-973-4000 or visit www.harbourfrontcentre.com   

Please send out to relevant email lists. Thank you.

CIUT 89.5 FM to Broadcast LIVE From the 17th Annual Jamaica Day Celebration

Attention: Music, Arts and Entertainment Editors
For Immediate Release

CIUT 89.5 FM to Broadcast LIVE
From the 17th Annual Jamaica Day Celebration

Who:   CIUT 89.5 FM and the 17th Annual Jamaica Day Celebration
What:   Live Broadcast
When:  Saturday, July 28th from 3:00pm to 11:00pm
Where: Keelesdale Park (Eglinton Avenue West at Black Creek Drive)

CIUT 89.5 FM is proud to return as the official broadcast media partner of the 17th Annual Jamaica Day Celebration ( www.jamaicaday.com).

CIUT 89.5 FM will broadcast performances by leading international and local Jamaican talent live from Jamaica Day at Keelesdale Park.

The Annual Jamaica Day Celebration brings the best contemporary, traditional, classical and folk artists to the stage. This year's impressive line-up boasts: Acclaimed Gospel and Reggae vocalist, the multi-award winning Sanchez ("Loneliness", "Wild Sanchez"); local R&B/soul dynamo Tonya P; UK-based Reggae star Demolition Man; Toronto's celebrated vocalist Tanya Mullings; Canadian Reggae Music Award-winning Jimmy Reid ; Calypso Queen Macomere Fifi; Reggae veteran Tinga Stewart; Reggae pioneer Ernie Smith ("I Can't Take It", "Bend Down"); comedic musician Professor Nuts; Oneil Davis; Michael Thompson; Symfoni; VC; Jakki James; Treson; IBO and more.

For more artist information visit: http://www.jamaicaday.com/events/performers.htm

Presented by Independent Promotions Entertainment Inc., the Annual Jamaica Day Celebration is one of Toronto's most vibrant cultural attractions, dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Jamaica's musical and dramatic heritage.

CIUT 89.5FM continues to lead the way as a presenter of live-remote broadcasts from events across Ontario. For a listing of all of CIUT's up-coming live remotes, visit www.ciut.fm.

CIUT 89.5 FM Jamaica Day Celebration Broadcast Schedule:

• Saturday, July 28 - 3:00pm - 11:00pm

Where to listen:

• 89.5 FM
• Channel 946 on the Rogers Digital Cable Platform
• Channel 826 on Star Choice's National Satellite Network
• www.ciut.fm  

Media Contacts:

Ken Stowar 
CIUT Program Director
(416) 978-0909 ext. 201
ciut.programming@utoronto.ca

Elaine Banks
CIUT Communications
(416) 978-0909 ext. 202
communications@ciut.fm


CIUT 89.5FM - celebrating 20 years of radio from the roots up

CIUT 89.5 FM is Toronto's pre-eminent, listener-supported presenter of leading-edge music and spoken word programming. Firmly rooted in the University of Toronto community, CIUT's programming reaches and represents the community at large and encompasses a wide panorama of styles and expressions. CIUT entertains and informs listeners from Barrie to Buffalo, Kitchener to Cobourg, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

CIUT's live remote broadcasts are made possible in part by the generous support of The Ontario Trillium Foundation. The Ontario Trillium Foundation, an agency of the Ministry of Culture, receives annually $100 million of government funding generated through Ontario's Charity Casino Initiative.

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