All posts on May, 2022

Organizers of the West Island Blues Fest recently launched the 2022 edition of the popular outdoor festival of music, family fun and food. After cancellation in 2020 and a scaled down event last year, they are raring to go with three exciting come-back shows to satisfy the cravings of every music lover in the city. The festival kicks off with the Annual VIP Fundraising Night On May 26, with Cocktails and Dinner at the Pierrefonds-Roxboro Cultural Centre. It will feature performances by JUNO Award winner Dawn Tyler Watson Then on July 9, comes the big outdoor show that will be …

In the ever-popular T.V. quiz show Jeopardy the moderator gives the answers and the contestants ask the questions. e.g. Ans. It is the most popular language spoken in Canada. Ques. What is English? In my title I gave the answer: Mass Incarceration. Question: What is the main cause of Absent Black Fathers? You may have seen headlines like: Where have all the Black men gone? or, where are the Black fathers? This is a subject that some of our own successful Black men have addressed. President Barak Obama spoke eloquently about absent Black fathers.. The message was also carried by …

Mental Health Week recently concluded. What has been done in schools, colleges and universities regarding the mental wellness of students? Canada has recently celebrated Mental Health Week, May 2 – 8. Every year since 1951, the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) has hosted Mental Health Week in the first full week in May, making 2022 the 71st year. It is a Canadian tradition, with communities, schools and workplaces rallying to celebrate, protect and promote mental health. Prior to the onset of the pandemic in 2020, suicide was the leading cause of death among students between 15 – 20 years of …

Joyce Ceretha Rice It is with deep sadness that the family announces the passing of Joyce Ceretha Rice (née Luke) on Friday May 6, 2022 surrounded by her loving family. Wife of Clyde Rice (1934-1996); she is survived by her 3 children, Wayne (Patricia), Sharon, and Patrick (Cindy). Cherished grand-mother of Qwintyn, Tyanna, Alisha, and Brielle. She is also survived by her sisters Elva, Lolene, Hazel; brothers Granville, Henderson, Eric; a niece, several nephews and cousins. Her body will repose for viewing on Tuesday, May 24 from 2:00-5:00pm and from 7:00-9:00pm; Wednesday, May 25 from 9:00 – 10:30am at Urgel …

As she prepares to exit a position that kept her on the frontlines in the fight to empower women, Grace Campbell stands proud of the achievements of Women On The Rise, the organization she been leading for the past two decades and the gains made among those whom they serve. She spoke with the CONTACT about the past 20 years and the highs and the lows that she says have made the organisation stronger. It started as Black Women on the Rise in 1991 following two studies conducted by the CLSC in NDG that showed Black, English-speaking women many of …

There was a time when the Quebec education system was even less accommodating to Black students than it appears to be today. A time when many students coming to Montreal from the Caribbean were being arbitrarily funneled to special-needs schools where, grouped with learners with real disabilities they struggled to make it to college and to university. “For the handful of Black educators at the time, it was troubling to see,” says Garvin Jeffers. “ Because we knew what the children were experiencing was not an inability to learn but culture shock. So, we had to do something.” At an …

South African born songstress Lorraine Klaasen will be performing in Montreal for the first time in a few years when she will surely thrill, audiences on May 21, at the Women On The Rise Fundraising Gala at The Hampton Inn in Dorval. Moving to London, Ontario about five years ago from Montreal, she didn’t anticipate not seeing her loved ones for a minute because of this virus called Covid 19. Asked about her relocation, she replied: “Aaah well, Ontario yeah! I was living in Montreal for the longest time (40 years) and then sometimes things happen and you need a …

Parti Quebecois governments led by former charismatic political leader of the decades of the 1970s, René Lévesque was almost the norm. The party and issues of the day, primarily and perpetually language that synergetic companion, were the electoral duality and synergy of political victory in any Quebec election. For the electorate and politicians alike, it became the political and electoral synergy of the era. What with the rise of social and political/provincial nationalism in a province that at the time perceived itself as a “have-not” part of Canada, and used its status as such to democratically extract as much as …

The release date has been set for January 12, 2024, the Marley family is fully invested in the project and world awaits the much anticipated biopic of a Caribbean icon and one of the biggest names in music on the global stage, Bob Marley. The stage is set. The still untitled movie will be a collaboration between Paramount Pictures and Tuff Gong with several of the legend’s children Cedella Marley, Ziggy Marley and Stephen Marley and his wife Rita Marley acting as co-producers. So far some major decisions have been made with a Hollywood heavyweight Reinaldo Marcus Green, who directed …

On the evening of Saturday, April 30, the Blue and Gold bordering Neptune’s broken Trident flew in its glory at Centre Communautaire Sarto Desnoyers in Dorval as hundreds of Bajan joined by friends and supporters from across the city rallying around the flag in a celebration of the new Republic of Barbados at a Gala Cocktail Soiree themed Bim Spring. The event, one of the first in the community following the COVID-19 lockdown, bubbled as the roomful of Montrealers enjoyed wall-to wall music with calypsonian Rupee’s “I’m A Bajan” substituting as the theme song of the evening, with ample servings …