By Lincoln DePradine

Toronto’s annual carnival culminated last weekend, with Grenadian-Canadians prominent in the festival as organizers, volunteers, performers and masqueraders.

The grand street parade, the highlight of the carnival, attracted more than 10,000 masqueraders on Saturday, August 5. Visitor attendance was estimated at close to two million people.

Each year, organizers select someone as the carnival’s official brand ambassador and as “The Face of the Festival’’ title-holder.

This year, the Festival Management Committee, whose general manager is Grenadian Adrian Charles, selected Keyanna Bell as “The Face of the Festival’’.

Bell has Grenada family ties. Her grandmother is Grenadian.

“I’m grateful to be able to do my part and help push the culture forward’’, said Bell, a digital marketing specialist who studied journalism at Seneca College in Toronto. She’s also a graduate of the University of Toronto.

“The history and the significance of this carnival is so much deeper than just putting on a costume and jumping on the road,’’ Bell said.

“All Caribbean carnivals are a celebration of our triumph over oppression. And so, one of the things for me, is for young people to know that and learn more about that,’’ she added. “My goal, of being The Face of the Festival, I hope that I’ll be able to facilitate a conversation around the history and the roots of carnival.’’