Why is Wasaga Beach, north of Toronto, Ontario the ideal setting for a major Caribbean literary festival? The answers are many and may be discussed from perspectives of history, geography and even demographics.

CANADA
The relationships between Canada and the Caribbean are traced over 300 years.

Even before the British gained control of the lands now called Canada, the people of what was then New France and the French colonies in the Caribbean had a vigorous trading relationship. That was in the early 18th century, 300 years ago. Since then, the Canadian economy throughs brands like Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of Nova Scotia, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, New Brunswick Sardines and many others have been associated with growth of Canada and the Caribbean.

The first Caribbean people to live in Canada arrived from Jamaica in Halifax, Nova Scotia about 220 years ago (in 1796). They were the first large group of Caribbean people ( according to some records) to enter British North America.

ONTARIO
Caribbean influences in Canada are perhaps strongest in Ontario. Whereas most Haitians settle in Quebec, perhaps largely because their mother-tongue is French, most other arrivals from the Caribbean settle in Ontario province. [thecanadianencyclopedia.com ]

The population of Canadians of Caribbean origin has grown more quickly than the Canadian population as a whole. Between 1996 and 2001, the Canadian population grew by four per cent while the Canadian-Caribbean population rose by 11 per cent. Caribbean-Canadians are concentrated overwhelmingly in the major urban centres of Quebec and Ontario. In 2001, more than 90 per cent of Caribbean-Canadians lived in one of these two provinces.

WASAGA BEACH
The town of Wasaga Beach is located on one of the most beautiful stretch of beach on the planet outside of the Caribbean. Similarities and parallels, between this town and many in the Caribbean, are worthy of note.

After mentally substituting evergreen wooded areas just beyond the beach line for palm fronds and coconut trees, the vistas are remarkably similar. Wasaga Beach is said to be the longest fresh water beach in the world. The longest salt water beaches in the world are said to be in the Caribbean. Negril’s beautiful white sand beach, in western Jamaica, is one of the longest, if not the longest the world.
Forming a backdrop to the town of Wasaga Beach are the majestic Blue Mountains to the West, on of Ontario most popular winter resorts. The majestic Blue Mountain range in Jamaica is the backdrop to the beaches and parishes in eastern Jamaica’s on the north coast and on the south.
The pearly white sands of Wasaga Beach are spectacular and will infect Caribbean people with a sense of nostalgia, although the waters of the Georgian Bay which wash its 14 kilometres are a few degrees cooler than the warm Caribbean.
What better venue for the Palaver International Literary festival, a Canadian event to celebrate Caribbean literature, Caribbean culture and Caribbean cuisine.
The inauguration of the annual Palaver International Literary Festival [Palaver rhymes with the English word for molten rock outflows from a volcano] will be held in Wasaga Beach on August 8 and 9, 2015.

Copyright © M.S.L. JARRETT 2015-04-18