The Carnival Nationz Story...
It was 2005, and after years of either observing or participating in a background capacity, four individuals decided to come together with the sole purpose of creating a Caribana experience unparalleled to any other. We all recognized the potential, but who knew that on that winter day in Markham (at Fortress North)... it would be the start of something magical. For
Carnival Nationz (CNz), a new band in the 2005 parade, we were burdened with the dreaded 15th spot on the route. However, our launch had so invigorated and changed the Toronto landscape that our inaugural presentation "Dis Is Paradise" had over 600 registered masqueraders. Now we can go on and tell you that it was smooth sailing from there... but that would be misleading. In fact, CNz literally had to battle to even make the Lakeshore that year. We were so far pegged back in the order that with soca superstars Bunji & Faye-Anne in the band, we literally had a blocko in the C.N.E. parking lot for hours. When we finally "got moving"... I personally think it was the inspiration for Bunji & Asylum's soca hit "Clear de Way"... but that is just me!!! After all the drama, after all the cussing and carrying on... by the time we hit the Lakeshore on that 2005 summer day, CNz was announced as the official "Band of the Year"... madness ensued and the rest as they say is "CNz-story". But CNz had truly created history by becoming the first band ever to win the coveted "Band of the Year" title in its inaugural year of participating. Since then CNz has won three other titles. We repeated in 2006 with probably the most memorable and revolutionary concept ever... "V... La Copa Mundial", paying tribute to the mighty "Soca Warriors" as they qualified for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
2007 brought the "Big Top" to Caribana, while in 2008 CNz took to the sea and unleashed an adventure of high treason and buccaneering proportions... "Pirates". CNz's third "Band of the Year" title had to wait until 2009, when the now three man run outfit (Marcus Eustace, Dwayne Pitt and Bryce Aguiton) showed the world a soft side with "IN FULL BLOOM: fruits & flowers". For CNz, it was a welcome return to the top as by now the band was recording numbers in excess of 1,800 masqueraders. In 2009, CNz also set its sights on expanding the brand name to not only be a Toronto based entity but rather to become a North American brand. As such, 2009 marked a significant moment in the history/evolution of CNz as we launched CARNIVAL NATIONZ MIAMI. Fueled by the desire to be North America's # 1 masquerade band... CNz chose Miami's "One Carnival" celebration as the first city for its expansions. In conjunction with local Miami promoters CNz Miami was a resounding success this with around 400 registered masqueraders. In doing this, CNz became the first ever band to move from Toronto to Miami. In 2010 CNz decided to pay special attention to one of the greatest figures in Caribbean history for all the awe inspiring music that he has provided to us over the years, something that has never been done before. Call him by whatever name you know him: "Slinger Francisco" ~ "D'Birdie" ~ "The King"... we at CNz will simply call him "SPARROW D'LEGEND". His catalogue is enormous, his talent undisputed, his charisma and ability to mesmerize an audience is world-renowned... and for 2010 CNz brought all those aspects to life in a presentation to celebrate one of our greatest talents, as only West Indians can... in "mas". In 2011, CNz endeavored to take its band to the far away land and time where magic ruled and the world was dominated and fully immersed in the realm of "MYTHICAL CREATURES." Not only did CNz dominate, but truly made history by becoming the first band ever to cop all 5 titles at the Toronto Carnival thus establishing us as a true carnival dynasty:
- Band of the Year (4-time winners in 7 years)…
- King
- Queen
- Male Individual
- Female Individual
All of this combined with our CNz family, made up of amazing private section leaders such as Ross, Hayden "Pumpkin'", Denise, Al & Brant and Jenny & Dianne... our terrific volunteers (too many to name but important all the same), our DJs & MCs (Jester, Sweetness, SKF, Eman, Scratch, Back-to-Basics, Kold Fusion, PlayHouse and Enforcas) have help make CNz Toronto's #1 mas band. All in all, it our belief at CNz that the journey is still very much ahead of us... that we have a great deal to offer to Toronto and the world and that with our limited budget, lack of sponsorships and the general economic climate... what we have been able to accomplish to date is true MAGICAL!!!!
