Features
Newsday reporter
RAY FUNK
Fifty-five years ago, Canada celebrated its 200th birthday with a world’s fair called Expo ’67, which is still widely regarded as one of the greatest world’s fair events of the 20th century. Millions participated and 62 countries participated. Expo 67 proved so popular that the following summer it was revived at the same location, under the name One Man and His World.
TT participated in a big way. Celebrating five years of independence, the country partnered with Grenada on a pavilion and sent dozens of musicians and performers to the event, where they spent months. Dancer Hazel Franco, who was part of it and would go on to coordinate and teach dance at UWI for more than three decades, recalls: “We left Trinidad in April and came back in November.”
Bert Henry was the production director, Wayne Berkeley the designer/costume designer, Torrance Mohammed and Cyril St Lewis the choreographers and Olive Walke directed the chorus.
There were craft exhibitions, particularly weaving and ceramics, and many of TT’s leading painters, designers and sculptors were represented, including Sybil Atteck, Althea McNish, LeRoy Clarke and Boscoe Holder. The TT Pavilion had a mural by Carlisle Chang and outside there was a steel structure created by metalworker Ken Morris.
There were so many performers and staff that finding a place to accommodate them all was a challenge and a great camaraderie developed.
Franco recalled: “They rented an entire apartment building. We had a whole ceremony to raise the TT flag on the building. We left it and it just stayed there the whole time we were there.”
The TT and Grenada pavilion had a futuristic multi-level design. In addition to the exhibitions, it had an auditorium that was advertised as “holding up to 80 performers and 250 spectators, the performances will be continuous, with folk dancing and singing, calypso songs, Limbo spectaculars and steel band music”.
The Almighty Bomber was commissioned to write and record a calypso publicizing the event, although he failed to come and perform, and instead it was Young Killer who became the resident calypsonian. There was also a resident and visiting steel band. From late afternoon to evening there was a rotating set of half-hour shows.
Indian classical music was part of the performances, with five musicians and two dancers led by violinist Narsaloo Ramaya, with dholak, concertina, dhantal, harmonium and vocalist.
There was a contingent of carnival costumes to be paraded by leading masmen like George Bailey and Stephen Lee Heung and a limbo group. Errol Hill’s play Man Better Man, which had been presented at the Commonwealth Arts Festival in Britain earlier in the year, was revived for Expo 67.
The commemorative brochure stated: “The exhibition area on the first floor displays historical material, paintings, sculpture and literature. There is a colorful display of carnival costumes, and Grenada, known as the Spice Island of the West, has an exhibit… titled “The History of Nutmeg”.
During the summer, it was the national TT instrument that featured the most. Bill Cotter, in his book on Expo ’67, noted, “However, the pavilion may be best remembered for the live steel band performances held on the small stage that overlooked the large pool in front of the building. “
Ebony magazine described the pavilion as having “a bar serving Caribbean specialties. Visitors can sip their drinks from a veranda overlooking a lagoon, where a steel band plays the latest tunes.”
The main steelband that appeared throughout the summer was “a combined forces steelband made up of members of the Army, Coast Guard and police forces.” They were led by police band arranger Anthony Prospect. They returned the following year as the Exponians and toured Canada.
In addition, other groups that were not part of the contingent of the pavilion came and performed. Julia Edwards’ dance troupe lasted for a considerable time and both the Trinidad Tripoli – then known as the Esso Trinidad Steel Band – and the National Steelband emerged during 1967 and 1968.
A tourist who saw Tripoli at the Expo was very impressed by their performance:
“Set on a lagoon, this idyllic reflection of West Indies culture features island brews with generous spikes and a 28-piece steel band. Sponsored by the oil company Esso, the ‘Esso Trinidad Tripoli Steelband’ was dressed in fine calypso costumes and performed an incredible medley of music on their steel drums, all bearing the Esso logo.
“Not only did we hear island music (Ride on Sammy and Simple Calypso) and popular music of the day (Downtown and Somewhere My Love), but we were also treated to steel band arrangements of Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Sleeping Beauty Waltz of Tchaikovsky, Strauss’ Blue Danube and a Chopin Intermezzo.”
Pianist and showman Liberace saw Tripoli and was so impressed that he arranged to take them on tour in the US, and this launched their career. Both Esso Trinidad and the Exponians recorded albums in Montreal with covers depicting shows at the Pavilion.
Units of the TT contingent from the pavilion traveled to perform in Toronto in 1967, forming a key force to start Caribana. Franco recalled that they traveled elsewhere that first year: “We also went to Ottawa, Quebec City, even St. John and Fredericton in New Brunswick.” In 1968, a troupe traveled to Winnipeg to perform under the name Calypso Festival ’68.
Meanwhile, many of the performers who came for Expo ’67 felt there were unique opportunities in Montreal and emigrated there in the following years, including Bert Henry, who would return to develop a theater program at Dawson College, and the dancers Christopher Jordan and Selwyn Joseph, who became active members of the Montreal dance community. More than half a dozen members of the Exponians migrated to Montreal and continued to play for many years to come.
There is no doubt that the TT pavilion was very popular and thousands of visitors got their first taste of the richness of TT culture from the exhibits and shows at Expo 67.
