Dawson College hosted a Caribbean Style Carnival Thursday, highlighting the cultures of different Caribbean countries like Guyana, Grenada, Jamaica, and Trinidad.
Ariel Marshall is a former psychology student from Dawson College. She’s currently working at the Lachine Hospital as an administrative agent and does some modelling as well.
“There are so many familiar faces, and I think it’s amazing that Dawson continues to showcase so many different cultures and just show the diversity that the student body obviously has,” Marshall said.
As a person who’s from Trinidad and Tobago, for her, the carnival event means getting more visibility.
“It means to be seen in a place where you don’t always feel seen,” Marshall said.
“Obviously, growing up, there weren’t a lot of Caribbean events that I knew of. I felt very enclosed. But finding community and having them everywhere, even in the school, makes it feel more like home, and it makes you want to come to school.”
In the future, she hopes they’ll expand and continue spreading more knowledge of the Caribbean cultures.
“I hope everybody can find a community within themselves,” she said.
Maya Seon is in her third year in the marketing and management technology program at Dawson.
She is also known as the queen of the popular Caribbean festival ‘Carimas’ and attends various events like banquets, fashion shows, and galas.
“I’m so happy I get to share my culture with my community,” Seon said.
Seon is Trinidadian and Vincentian. She says this type of event helps to remind people where they’re from.
“Sometimes we can feel a little bit away from the culture since we’re not really in it every day. But having events like this, you get to remember your roots and then you get to connect with your friends,” Seon said.
Ketlyn Maitland-Blades was a former Dawson student in the 1970s. She is also the former president of the Dominican Island Cultural Association. Now, she’s a retired banker.
Maitland-Blades says she’s showcasing Dominique, “the nature island of the Caribbean.”
She was recently the recipient of the King Charles III Coronation Medal of Honour for her 50 years of community service. She feels great being part of the carnival.
“I feel wonderful,” she said. “I love participating, and I love carnival.”
In the future, she’d like to see younger participants uplifting Caribbean culture.
“Because older participants like myself obviously can’t continue forever, and it would be great to see the younger people who take the mantle and run with it,” Maitland-Blades said.
Lauri Sofia Mulucto, a first-year student in the community recreation and leadership training program at Dawson, says when she first entered the event, she felt thrilled.
“I wanted to dance and shake my body,” she said.
Mulucto says that these types of events are important for promoting multiculturalism. As an Inuit person, she’d like to host her own events at the school in the near future, where people can learn more about her culture and identity.
“The special thing is how I see different people that we rarely get to see,” Mulucto said. “So, like, other people can interact with them and ask questions and learn more about their culture face-to-face.”
Joralie Przybylowski is a first-year student in Dawson’s community recreation and leadership training program.
She says she enjoys seeing the various colours of the Caribbean costumes.
“And I also really enjoy seeing all of the feathers, because I find that they look really amazing,” Przybylowski said.
Przybylowski says she appreciates how Dawson uplifts various cultures.
“I always like to understand and sort of see different cultures and enjoy different foods as well and see people dance. It makes me very happy,” Przybylowski said.
Sharon Nelson is the president of the Jamaica Association of Montreal (JAM) and secretary of the Caribbean Coalition Network of Montreal. She says the Caribbean Style Carnival is about supporting each other.
“Really, as I say, to really highlight the Caribbean and the pride that many Caribbean people have in the cultures that we share,” Nelson said.
She explains that when reading the history of the Caribbean Carnival and where it comes from, people can see that it’s coming from a place of colonialism and slavery. However, she adds that “within the context of that brutality, people are still people.”
“They still want to live. They still want to have fun. They still want to celebrate,” Nelson said.
Nelson adds this event is a great opportunity for people to show where they’re from.
“Carnivals make us happy, makes people happy. Not only people from the Caribbean, but people from all over the place, because everyone is welcome to be a part of the Caribbean,” Nelson said.
“It’s not just for Black people. It’s not just for a certain group of people. It’s anybody who enjoys that type of energy and wants to dress up in costume. That’s what we (are) welcoming them to.”
