Island Soul strives to be a meeting place for communities to express and explore their identities through a vibrant celebration of music, dance, language, food, film, workshops and more, as the cultural legacy of the Caribbean comes to Toronto’s waterfront for four days.

Island Soul offers up a diverse multi-arts programme informed by the stories that have sustained and inspired the generations of communities that call these island nations home. We explore these themes by bringing together established artists who have left their mark on the culture alongside emerging artists who pay homage to this artistic heritage as they blaze their own paths.

Island Soul will feature diverse artistic expressions, independent voices and thinkers who have influenced the past, present and future of island culture and are actively adding to the already rich island legacy.

— Nadine McNulty, Guest Artistic Associate
— Sergio Elmir, Artistic Associate

Festival Kompa Zouk Toronto showcases the cultures and values from here and abroad. This year at Harbourfront Centre, as part of the Island Soul festival, we will be the meeting place between the memory of the Creole culture and the input of the new generation.

— Jennyne Mayard, Artistic Director, Festival Kompa Zouk Ontario
— Howard Benjamin, Artistic Associate

Top Canadian calypso and soca singers are featured along with the 2013 Calypso Monarch of the U.K., performing their latest hits in a last-lap concert that also includes steel pan and traditional carnival mas characters.

— Roger Gibbs, Artistic Director, Organization of Calypso Performing Artists