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| Photo contributed Dr. Upton Allen, Head of the Division of Infectious Diseases, The Hospital for Sick Chidren (SickKids) |
An idea that started as a fundraising event at the Jamaican
Canadian Association and has become a staple is celebrating its 2ist anniversary
this month.
Erma Collins, a veteran member of the JCA and former chair of its
Capital Fundraising Committee in the late 1990s, early 2000s, notes that the
Boonoonoonos Brunch was the brainchild of an ad hoc group established by the
board, under the leadership of then president, Herman Stewart.
The organization
had recently acquired 995 Arrow Road and “the committee’s mandate was to go
beyond JCA members, to corporations and other individuals, to raise moneys
towards our “Building to Serve” funds,” writes Collins in an article about the
history of the brunch.
At the time, the committee members were Erma Collins,
Paul Barnett, Vincent Conville, Dr. Buddy McIntosh, Dr. Ezra Nesbeth, Lana
Salmon-Jones, Herman Stewart, Sandra Whiting, and Patricia Williams.
The idea
for a Celebrity Brunch to take place during Black History Month got its catchy
name ‘Boonoonoonos’ from Whiting who suggested it to the group.
“I have always
felt that we have such fantastic names in our language and I love ‘boonoonoonos’
because it’s joyful and it’s happy and it’s bright. It just says possibilities
so that was why I thought it would be good, says Whiting on the telephone one
week before she hosts the virtual event on February 21, 2021.
This year, three
people – Dr. Upton Allen, Letna Allen-Rowe and the late Denise Jones -- will be
recognized for their outstanding contribution to the community.
Dr. Allen is the Head of Division of Infectious Diseases at SickKids Hospital, a professor at the
University of Toronto and sits on numerous health–related committees. He has a
long history of contributions to the African Canadian and wider community.
Dr.
Allen is currently the lead for a team of researchers that are conducting
large-scale antibody testing and data collection to understand the prevalence of
COVID-19 infection in Black Canadian communities. He is also a member of The
Black Scientists' Task Force on Vaccine Equity that was recently created to
address vaccine hesitancy among Black people of African and Caribbean origins.
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| Photo contributed Letna Allen-Rowe, Artist and Community Advocate |
Allen-Rowe is a performing artist and community advocate who is
passionate about diversity, equity and inclusion.
She established the “Ms Letna
Healing Hope Fundraising Brunch’’ in 2013 after she received treatment for
breast cancer at Scarborough’s Centenary Hospital. Over the years, the brunch
has raised more than $50,000, which was donated to cancer care in Canada and the
Caribbean.
Allen-Rowe is the recipient of several awards, including Leading
Women – Building Communities Award from the Province of Ontario, the 100 ABC
Women Award and on August 6, 2020, Independence day, she was appointed to the
Order of Distinction (O.D) by the Government of Jamaica “for outstanding service
to the Jamaican Diaspora in Canada.”
“The late Denise Jones was a vital force in
the Jamaican-Canadian community. Denise was a dynamic music promoter, artist,
actress, cultural archivist, educator, booking agent, storyteller,
philanthropist, and promoter of all things Jamaican,” says the Boonoonoonos
Brunch Planning Committee.
“She was an iconic figure in the Jamaican Canadian
community, the world of reggae and the Black entertainment scene, producing and
promoting many top artists. The JCA Boonoononos Bruch was one of the
beneficiaries of Denise’s event planning and execution expertise. Well known as
the organizer of the Air Jamaica Day and later Jambana Music Festival, Denise’s
contribution to the community was recognized by the Ontario Legislature and the
Government of Canada after her death.”
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| Photo contributed Denise Jones, The late Founder and CEO of Jones & Jones Productions Ltd. |
“We decided to have a celebrity at every table. There would be minimal if
any entertainment. We wanted people to interact with the celebrity and with one
another. There would be Black History quizzes; people would be asked to make up
limericks, to sing songs, to have fun—all facilitated by the celebrity.”
The
inaugural Boonoonoonos Brunch and Brawta was held on February 20, 2000, and as
Collins notes it was a knockout affair with 47 celebrity hosts in attendance.
The patron was the late Lincoln Alexander and former Canadian citizenship judge
Stanley Grizzle said grace.
Collins writes that: “MC Sandra Whiting did an
excellent job getting celebrities to lead their tables in singing songs from
assigned themes; to answer items from the quiz (prepared by Vincent Conville);
to expand one or two given lines into a limerick (prepared by Erma Collins); and
to pay whatever amount of money she decided, whenever she decided that the job
was not up to par or was too well done. People left with wide grins on their
faces and with the request that JCA “do it again next year.”
The event netted
$11,052, with the help of various sponsors from the community. In 2001, the
committee repeated the brunch and had Lincoln Alexander and the late Beverly
Mascoll as patrons.
In her recollection, Collins notes that, “A celebrity that
year, Raynier Maharaj of The Caribbean Camera, wrote: “If you missed the
fundraising Boonoonoonos Brunch and Brawta, you missed out. It was a grand time,
with celebrities at every table where, betwixt and between nibbling on
delicacies like curried goat and green fig, we had to get the folks to do
something outrageous…..The real star was Pride’s Van Cooten, who got up on the
stage to render us all speechless with a beautiful song.””
Being one the longest
standing Black community organizations in the GTA, the JCA says it is important
to participate in Black History Month activities, providing “an opportunity to
celebrate the many achievements and contributions of Black Canadians and to
recognize the past and present contributions in such areas as education,
medicine, art, culture, public service, economic development, politics and human
rights."
The Jamaican Canadian Association delivers programs and services and
advocates to improve the well-being and equity of Jamaican, Caribbean and
African-Canadians within the Greater Toronto Area.
It is also a physical hub for
the provision and hosting of various cultural, educational and social
activities. The annual brunch in recognition and celebration of Black History
Month is one such activity.
Collins notes that the Boonoonoonos Brunch has also
been produced by Jones and Jones, as well as by Sandra Whiting and Associates,
and “has morphed from an interactive event to an entertainment-based one. But it
has endured.”
The glossary in Jamaica Labrish: Jamaica Dialect Poems by Louise
Bennett with notes and introduction by Rex Nettleford defines “boonoonoonos” as
a “term of endearment meaning pretty, beautiful; also pleasant, lovely, nice.”
