Blessed with new corporate sponsorship, Toronto’s liveliest fest expands to include an Afro-Canadian art exhibition at the ROM (July 24 to Aug. 4); a steel pan band competition at Lamport Stadium (Aug. 1); and calypso concerts across the city in the month-long lead up (June 13 to July 13) to the official launch. The rest follows the usual crowded crescendo, with the masqueraders at the Junior Carnival at Yorkgate Mall (July 19) and their colourfully costumed elders at the King and Queen of the Bands Competition at Lamport Stadium (July 31) building anticipation for the massive parade along Lake Shore Boulevard (Aug. 2). Exhausted revellers can chill out at the De Caribana Lime-Island Festival (Aug. 3) on Olympic Island. —Brent Ledger