anniversary — Simply Shakera Blog

Carnival Spice Turns 10

Event Recap of our Dine & Lime anniversary dinner

Y’all I have a 10 year old!!! Can you believe it? It’s still hard to wrap my head around the fact that a whole decade ago is when I stepped out on faith and began working towards bringing the ideas I had in my head to life. During that time I was determined to share my passion for dance, wellness and Caribbean carnival with the world.

Carnival Spice was launched in 2013 with an intention to bring movement to beautiful mas while also creating space for Black and Caribbean dance artists. The company has now become a global community that empowers artists of colour through training, mentorship and access to opportunities. Through our work, we are also able to educate the community at large about the history of the masquarade and the significance of Carnival in Caribbean culture. We have also unapologetically taken up space in front of a variety of different audiences; from the boardroom, to the classroom, from television to some of the biggest stages in Canada. Carnival Spice is known for it’s high level of energy, professionalism, and unique spin on presenting Caribbean Carnival arts.

Dine and Lime

2023 will be a year filled with a series of events and activations in celebration of this wonderful milestone for Carnival Spice. We kicked things off on Sunday, June 11th with a Caribbean styled food inclusive event called DINE & LIME.

Dine and Lime was such a beautiful experience. There was so much love and support in the room with attendees being a mix of CS training and performance group members, friends, family and clients. It was so special meeting one our first wedding clients since the pandemic who shared the news with us that they are expecting their first child. Congrats to the Dhinganis!

The soca was pumping from the music styling of DJ Undacover and the food as expected was amazing. The Avenue is one of my favourite restaurants in the city so it meant a lot hosting the event there. We also debuted our BTS Documentary from our performance at the 2022 Blue Jays Caribbean Carnival.

Sokah On Di Road

In honour of our 10 year celebration, we will also be on the road as section leaders for Toronto Caribbean Carnival. Look for us decked out in orange, blue and pink in the section SOKAH with Suga Cayne mas. Any remaining costumes can be found here; but be sure to use code: “spicefam10” at checkout to receive a goodie bag from our team. It was wonderful having dancers Kayla and Natalie showcase the costumes through a Carnival Spice dance routine.

Dine and Lime was quite special. Everyone in attendance really brought the spice. Thank you to Anthony Berot for capturing these beautiful photos and Malynne Allya Artistry for the make up work on the dancers and myself.

And a HUGE thank you to Siobhan, Kafi, and Jena for all your help with event logistics.