Regent Park Focus

On October 29th, we held our Last Friday event at 246 Sackville Street, the new seniors and family residential building in partnerships with the Daniels corporation. We had a variety of performances from: Da Youngstas Ania Soul Marnie Levitt COBA RPSM (Regent Park School of Music) It was a great turn out with some really awesome free spicy food to go along with it. Da Youngstas started and closed the show after weeks of intensive practice. Be sure to check out our website for more information about the location and time for the next Last Fridays event!

This week at Catch Da Flava we talked about very serious topic. This wonderful show hosted by Kelvin and Isaac and created by Saima. We began our show with the definition and different type of bullying. Bullying is a pattern of aggressive behavior meant to hurt or cause discomfort to another person. Bullies always have more power than victims. Their power comes from physical size, strength, status, and support within the peer group. Kelvin said “Have you ever bullied or been bullied? If you have bullied or been bullied then you should know how bullying feels like. Bullying is very negative and creates major problems for our society. Nothing good comes out of bullying. It could very well change or ruin a person’s life. In fact, it does ruin many people’s lives.” Two people called in and discuss with Isaac and Kelvin their person stories on the air. One was 13 years girl. At the end Isaac said “If you see someone else being bullied you should always try to stop it. If you do nothing,...

Tonight it was politics, politics and politics! In an effort to get young people more engaged in election issues and the mayor candidates we invited all the mayor candidates to appear on CATCH DA FLAVA radio. CATCH DA FLAVA sat down with three of Toronto’s major players in the current mayoral race. Guests Joe Pantalone, George Smitherman and Sarah Thomson discussed youth issues, how politics empowers us, and how we can all get involved in making our city an inclusive and safe place for everyone. Our first guest Joe Pantalone had a lot to say about the newcomer and immigrant experience for youth. Pantalone came to Canada as a teenager with little English and even less money in his pocket. Pantalone spoke passionately about what he believes to be Toronto’s greatest asset… it’s diversity. Pantalone’s vision of Toronto’s youth is that of a cosmopolitan and tolerant future with focus on community and neighbourhood centered programs. Pantalone also has a killer tailor. Snappiest dresse...

This week at Catch Da Flava we talked about some Big Stuff. We began with a discussion about the recent shootings in Regent Park and how powerless that can make us feel. Featured Hosts Isaac, Leyia and Stephanie really got honest about how hard Big Stuff and Big Feelings can be, especially when we don’t have the tools to deal with them. That’s when we got into the power of Art. Catch Da Flava Hosts Calvin and Onik asked our Featured Hosts powerful questions about how Art can free you from really bad Big Stuff and Big Feelings. Isaac talked about how funny stories and jokes can be a way to solve problems. Stephanie opened up about her passion for singing and dancing, and how it has made difficult times in her life easier to handle. In an amazing act of spirit and courage, Leyia read an amazing poem she wrote. Catch Da Flava will be posting it next week. The most amazing part of our Featured Host panel was the realization that every major civil rights moment travelled in songs, poems, st...

This week The Catch Da Flava Radio show was on Racism hosted by Kelvin produced by Saima. We our show began with the history and definition of racism. Racism has existed throughout human history. It may be defined as the hatred of one person by another -- or the belief that another person is less than human -- because of skin color, language, customs, and place of birth or any factor that supposedly reveals the basic nature of that person. It has influenced wars, slavery, the formation of nations, and legal codes. Racism is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human capacities, that a certain race is inherently superior or inferior to others, and/or that individuals should be treated differently according to their racial designation. Sometimes racism means beliefs, practices, and institutions that discriminate against people based on their perceived or ascribed race. There is a growing, but controversial, opinion that racism is a system of oppression -- a nexus of racist ...