A star-studded group of Antigua and Barbuda’s top entertainers brought a splash of the twin-islands’ culture to Toronto, Canada for the 44th anniversary of Independence celebrations, last weekend.
Claudette ‘CP’ Peters backed by the Disturbance Band, Dynamic duo Soca Villain (2025 Road March champion) and Island Prince, Menace XL (as the master of ceremonies) and Deek all provided entertainment. Director of Culture and Hells Gate Steel Orchestra Arranger, Khan Cordice, was also present as the featured speaker.
The group was sponsored by the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority (ABTA) to attend the Antigua and Barbuda Association of Toronto’s 44th Independence Dinner and Dance held on Saturday, November 8 at the Toronto Grand Convention Centre.
Tameka Wharton, Director of Tourism, Canada explained: “We continue to support the Antigua and Barbuda Association of Toronto, and all of our diaspora in Canada, to ensure that they are our strongest ambassadors, sharing the culture of our twin-islands within their communities in Canada, and inviting their friends to visit our shores.”
The signature cultural celebration brought together hundreds of Antiguans and Barbudans and friends, living in the Greater Toronto Area and further afield in Canada. The Association presented its Community Award to Annette Huggins, for exemplary leadership and volunteerism in the Greater Toronto Area. Huggins, a proud daughter of Barbuda, migrated to Canada in 1972 and built a career in nursing and social services. The Association also awarded Claudette ‘CP’ Peters for 25 years of excellence in soca music and for contributions to culture.
Several lucky attendees also won door prizes one of which was a stay at Hawksbill Hotel, sponsored by the Tourism Authority. The initiative reflects ABTA’s wider strategy of leveraging authentic Antigua and Barbuda culture and music to engage Canadian audiences and drive visitation to the destination.
“Wherever you find yourself: in a Canadian winter or a Caribbean sunrise you are an ambassador,” said Antigua and Barbuda Director of Culture Khan Cordice, to the audience of compatriots. “Every act of kindness, every pursuit of excellence, every time you hold your head high and speak of where you are from, you strengthen that legacy of those that came before you.”
During their tour of Toronto, the group of entertainers was featured in an episode of Caribbean Vibrations, the longest-running Caribbean television series in Canada, which airs nationwide on OMNI television, and interviewed by DJ Doc on Fyah Radio in Mississauga, Ontario.
Cordice, the guest of honour at the Canadian Federation of Steelpan’s “A Night with Khan Cordice” event which took place at the Tropicana Community Centre in Scarborough, received an award for his achievements as a “master of the steelpan instrument, visionary arranger, and inspiring educator.”
