One
of the most special parts of the Simply Shakera journey is the awesome people I
have met along the way. This spotlight edition highlights the Queen of Bacchanal,
DESTRA GARCIA who I had the pleasure of meeting last year. Destra is one of the
top soca artists in the world and we were glad to have her here in Toronto to
celebrate carnival with us.
During
her busy schedule, we had a moment to chat about a bunch of different things:
work, food, fans, and even her love life – ha! It was fun. She even gave me
tips on what to do when I visited Trinidad; ironically we ended playing mas in
the same section with Yuma Vibe.
Destra
will be back in the city to celebrate carnival with us once again and we are
ready for her to “mash up di stage” … feters, masqueraders, carnivalians – I hope
you’re ready!
On September 6th
and September 7th 2014 my teammates and I will walk in support of the many
individuals and families affected by cancer. With today being the 2-month mark
I thought it would be great to give a shout out to the Bosom Buddies:
Team Bosom Buddies Are:
Team Captain & Aunty: Audrey Isaacs
Sister & Partner in Crime: Siobhan Bent
Cousin & Fellow Capricorn: Melissa Isaacs
Family Friend:
Dawnette Elvie
Church Sister:
Janet Champagne Myself: Shakera Martin
THE WALK
The Weekend to End Women’s Cancers is an awesome fundraising campaign hosted
by Shoppers
Drug Mart. It consists of a 2-day, 60-kilometre or 1-day 32-kilometre walk
through the neighbourhoods of downtown Toronto. Each walker is expected to
raise a total of $2000 that will benefit Princess Margaret Cancer Centre – a
leader in the fight against all women's cancers.
WHY SHAKERA WHY?
I’ve said it once and
I will say it again, “I Am Shakera Martin & I Want to End
Cancer”. One of my biggest pet peeves with Cancer is
that it strikes at any time in the lives of any one. NO ONE IS SAFE. I have
witnessed way to many families left broken because of this disease. My decision and commitment to complete this journey (fundraising
& walk) is based on love for my fellow sisters, mothers, grandmas,
daughters, nieces, and friends everywhere.
Throwback photo with my sister & mom <3
PUT IN WORK
I truly did not
realize how far 60km was until I began training (ha!). I have been using my friend Google maps to
find locations that are 60km away from my home. This is such a horrible
exercise! It only built up my anxiety. Then I tried to determine how many kilometers
I (unknowingly) walked during Day One and Day Two of Trinidad Carnival – but half
the time in Trinidad I wasn’t sure where I was (lol) – so that exercise did not
help either. How far is 60km ya’ll? Someone give me an idea :p
What I do know
is how much $2000 dollars is… and how challenging it can be to make that amount
of money in allotted time. The Bosom
Buddies have some fundraising events coming up in the next few weeks – for dates
and event details visit CLICK HERE
(1)PRAY: For the
safety of the walkers, organizers, and volunteers apart of The
Weekend to End Women’s Cancers … but more importantly pray for the
families that have been affected by cancer – they need your prayer and love the
most. <3
(2)Please DONATE
to this journey as it’s yours, too. Whatever you can will be appreciated if it’s
coming from your heart.
Wow, I haven’t
written a post in almost THREE months! The last time I posted was after Trinidad
carnival and that should say a lot.
“Carnival Tabanca”: The feeling of hurt and pain when
a Caribbean carnival experience has ended often compared to the feeling of
being lovesick… Sing away Bunji Garlin.
The weight of
my “Carnival Tabanca” post Trinidad was equivalent to about fifty elephants, the
weather in Toronto was horrible, I played catch up with a few of my projects, new
projects were beginning blah blah blah. It was a rough time – Ha! However, on a
lovely Saturday afternoon, friends of mine accompanied me for a pedicure and
dinner at my favourite Greek restaurant. They then brought me to Skyzone (for
my first time) where I literally jumped and jumped till I was happy again! Recovering from my tabanca experience exemplifies how life can change in a matter of minutes with
great people around you.
Moving
forward, you can expect biweekly posts on this blog from here on out! I have
many exciting projects and initiatives coming up that I can’t wait to share.
Wishing you all nothing but the best! Stay blessed!
Check out some of my most recent
work that I would like highlight:
CARNIVAL
Toronto Carnival just completed
their “band launch” season. Beautiful costumes from the city’s nine mas bands
were released to world. For the first time in years, costumes have been selling
out quickly! I was so happy to see models from Carnival Spice And Everything Nice hit the runway with bands Saldenah Mas-K Club, Carnival Nationz, and Jamaal
Magloire’s Toronto Revellers. The team DEFINITELY brought a different energy to
each stage we touched. I even tried a “ting” too! Ha! Warning, the Saldenah footage has lots of bum! Yowza.
DANCE
I and over 50 women brought the “Age
of Electronica” to the Mod Club stage with the High Heels High Hopes
Performance and Training Group. This company “enriches women's lives
not only through confidence building, but in strength and skill training!”, and
you KNOW I’m ALL about girl power. The show was filled lights, cameras, and a
whole lot of action. The company will be hosting a summer dance intensive in
support of Carolyn Van. A wonderful young woman and dancer who is battling
cancer… actually, she’s kicking cancers ass!
Read more about the HighHeels High Hopes summer intensive HERE
Read more about Carolyn via her websiteHERE - The site
actually shares much of her current journey. This woman is an absolute fighter.
HEALTH & WELLNESS
If you have not attended one of my
dance fitness workshops, you are definitely missing out! I hosted a public workshop
in February and will be hosting another one Sunday, June 22nd in
Downtown Toronto. See details HERE. My workshops are open to all ages, ethnicities, and dance levels. One of my awesome class attendees shared
this quote:
“I love the workshops, and the energy/enthusiasm of instructor
Shakera. Fun and exercise are all combined… it’s a win-win situation (or is
that ‘whine whine’?)"
