I went to the first Caribana in Toronto. It was on Yonge St, starting at University and ending at Yonge. It was new, very enjoyable, and I used to go to the carnival in Trinidad every year. In Trinidad they have a cooling bus, and a cool spray because of the heat. It's much more advanced there. The whole city was involved in Trinidad. Her first time at Toronto Caribana she went with friends who were from the Bahamas. Theresa first came to Canada in the 1970s, because she loves to travel and explore, not for financial reasons, and she wanted to stay. Every year I went back to Trinidad, and even now, 6 months of the year my family would never leave Trinidad. My niece, who is studying abroad to be a doctor, will come back to Trinidad because of the lifestyle. Trinidad is a nice place if you have a good job. My friends are established and travel wherever they like. "Why do you come back to Caribana every year?" Well, Carnival started in Trinidad, and there are many parties with all types of food, champagne and wine. A friend of mine had a very extravagant, all inclusive party. My son brought a section (from a band) called Carnival of Nations. Bands have a theme every year, someone designs the costumes. Each section has a price tag and you can choose which section you want to join. You can visit Mas Camp to see the drawings of all the costumes, to decide what costume and band you'd like to join. I joined a section before, but I didn't come in costume, I went as a marshal. It's better to go by the Lakeshore because there are fewer barriers, more food vendors, more participation, and someone you might not have seen in years might come up to you!