Between October 2019 to August 2020 the West 
Can’s Afro-Caribbean Folklore in Quebec project, targeted school-aged children, adults and seniors in the Anglophone Black community with roots in the Caribbean with a series of workshops in storytelling, folk-song, dance and drumming that helped participants broaden their historical awareness and develop new performance skills.
The sessions, which were held at various cultural centers across the city and at West-Can studios in Montreal West were as exciting as they were educational, expanding the knowledge of adults and children on different aspects of Caribbean cultural history.
The workshops also serve as cultural updates to those seniors who had left the Caribbean when their home countries were still British colonies with the arts and education systems were hampered by colonial limitations. Many of the school-aged participants had little to no exposure to their cultural heritage.
The drumming workshop, provided participants interesting background information on rhythms, timing and setting in which they were played. For the seniors, it was an exercise in muscle memory, mental retention, and physical coordination.
The same was also true of the dance workshops.
One of the dances in this workshop, the Congo Dance was especially meaningful to them as they explored aspects such as historical context, meaning of the dance, choreography and the occasion when it would be performed.
The storytelling workshop differed according to the group. The children learnt about Anasi stories and later drew pictures, to illustrate the tale.
The seniors were the storytellers in their workshops. All were eager participants because everyone loves to hear and to tell a good story, making it gratifying to know that the oral tradition continues live on and find traction.
The folksong workshops were just as popular with seniors as many recalled songs of their youth, some of which they had not heard nor sung in decades. It was a new experience for the children.
Among the organizations that participated in the workshops were: Chez Doris Women’s Shelter, The Jamaica Association of Montreal, The Council for Black Aging Community of Montreal, Westhaven Elmhurst Community Recreation Association, African Canadian Development and Prevention Network, and the Cote-des-Neiges Black Community Association
The project, funded by the government of Canada was so successful, that participants expressed hope that there would be something similar in the future.
As coordinators, West Can Folk Performing Company along with participants were hoping to have in-person presentations on what they had learned, but as we all know a microscopic organism known as COVID-19 changed the plans of 7.8 billion humans.
A digital presentation of the project, The Afro-Caribbean Folklore in Quebec is currently available on West-Can’s YouTube channel www.youtube.com/westcanfolk
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West Can’s Afro-Caribe Project Was A Cultural and Historical Treat
