Joy Drop: February an inspiring month of cultural, historical learnings

Dear readers, another week of winter is under our belts. I had the good fortune of experiencing some warmth at a Toronto Raptors game on Thursday night that featured Caribbean culture. I went with my friends Courtney and the Crocker/MacLean family from Halifax. 

The anthems were performed by Pan Fantasy, an amazing steel pan ensemble. Truly the rhythm and mood of steel pan makes you almost forget that all of downtown Toronto was lined with slush amid freezing temperatures. 

We asked the players, “What’s your go to Caribbean dish?”<br><br>Let us know what yours is in the comments ⤵️ <a href="https://t.co/RVSsjgMRQG">pic.twitter.com/RVSsjgMRQG</a>

Kevin Little performed, and at halftime Soca legend Patrice Roberts absolutely killed it. I have been singing "drink water and mind my business" constantly. 

I appreciate the cultural nights and believe it's an amazing space to share heritage and traditions. A connection through food and music is so profound and effective in sharing with wider communities. Obviously I am biased toward the Raptors' games operation crew (my husband, Mark, works with them) but the performances and costumes from The Northside Crew were fantastic. 

I do feel that not only do cultural nights help connect people, they include various communities into sport in an impactful way. And now I'm craving my husband's oxtail. 

It is carnival time in Trinidad right now and one of my friends is there celebrating. I had been watching her social media and started to look into the festivities and found an article from Vogue magazine about The Lost Tribe (a carnival band). There are so many Caribbean communities in Canada and knowing about their own traditions emboldens us to participate here and continue learning —