After moving to Toronto, Canada, from Trinidad and Tobago in 1968, HENRY LEWIS ANTOINE became an active participant and leader in the social and cultural life of the growing and dynamic Caribbean community in Toronto Canada. Soon his pioneering spirit led him to forge strong links with Caribbean immigrants living in other industrialized nations outside of the Caribbean region.
To this end he was soon speaking to cultural counterparts in the United States and Europe. He participated in the first ever calypso competition held as part of the Caribana Carnival celebrations at the Maple Leaf Gardens in 1971. Mr. Antoine was a member of the Toronto Symphony Steel band and promoted major cultural events during the Caribana Carnival Festival at the Sheraton Center. Mr. Antoine is also a founding member of the Iere Sports Club in Toronto. These social and cultural events helped to establish Mr. Antoine as one of the leaders of the fast-growing Caribbean community.
In 1972 Mr. Antoine produces the first Soca album for the late Mr. Garfield Blackman (Lord Shorty). In 1973 he also produces the first ever album for Gemini Brass. Mr. Antoine also pioneered quite a number of big name bands and Calypsions out of Trinidad and other Caribbean Islands to Canada.
Never a one-dimensional person Mr. Antoine furthered his education by attending the Rhyerson Polytechnic Institute where he studied Management Planning for Productivity and graduated from Lewis Hotel Motel School in Hotel and Motel Management. In 1973 he moved to Montreal and immediately thrust himself in activities that centered around the upliftment and development of the growing Caribbean community. To this end he played an active role in the annual Montreal Carnival, and then called CARIFETE.
In 1976 Mr. Antoine was elected Secretary and Treasurer of the Montreal Carnival Development Committee and was assigned the task of helping to restructure CARIFEST. In 1982 Mr. Antoine was appointed by Warren Allmand, Member of Parliament, to his Constituency Grants Committee in Notre De Grace (NDG), Mr. Antoine was also appointed by The Black Community Council of Quebec to manage the Montreal Carnival, now called CARIFIESTA. He held this position for a number of years.
Mr. Antoine was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of the NDG Black Community Association in 1984, and in 1986 he was one of the visionary carnival managers who saw the need for an international body to help order and structure Diasporic Carnivals. In 1986 he was one of the founders of the North America – England Carnival Association and was elected the organization’s first president. He held this position for 7 years.
Then in 1993 Mr. Antoine was asked to reconstitute and reorganize the international carnival organization. The result is the International Caribbean Carnival Association (ICCA). Mr. Antoine has been the ICCA president, pioneer and leader for about 15 years until the organization failed because of internal structural and other associated problems. Over the years he has dedicated much of his time to not only sharing his internationalist vision for carnivals, but invested much effort to help floundering and newly-formed carnivals to develop.
Under his leadership the ICCA had at its zenith 43 members in Canada, the Caribbean, the USA and Europe. Mr. Antoine has worked for the past 30 years as the roving “Ambassador of Carnival.” In 1986 Mr. Antoine traveled through out the USA, England and Canada and approached carnival organizations and fans across the world to create a member-driven carnival organization of a new type to meet the challenges of the 21st century. After much deliberation and discussions with interested parties, individuals and organizations the international movement was formed on November 15th 1986 with Mr. Antoine as the organization’s first President. Mr. Antoine continues to move forward and developed a brand name (Trini Style carnival) which is very popular world wide. Mr. Antoine still the head of the international movement, under the new name, World Carnival Commission ( WCC )
Under his capable leadership the WCC is poised to promote, build and organize carnivals on a global scale. At present Mr. Antoine was just appointed Executive Director for the Carnival in Montreal. And in February of 2007 Mr. Henry Antoine was honored by the Mayor Murchison Brown of the Port of Spain for promoting and developing Carnival World Wide. Mr. Antoine was also asked by the Africa Rebirth Association of to bring Carnival from the different parts of the world to Africa for 2010 for one of the biggest celebration in Africa.
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Did he produce a band called New Directions?