That last week of July this year 2022, (and the week leading up to Caribana each year) is sometimes referred to as “Carnival week.”
With Caribana (or Toronto Caribbean Carnival) typically landing on the last Saturday in July, or first Saturday in August, persons here tend to call the days leaving up to the Grand Parade, Carnival Wednesday, Carnival Thursday and so on (similarly to what we do back home with Carnival Monday and Carnival Tuesday.)
There are typically numerous events happening on each of the days of the carnival week , just up to Carnival Sunday.
During this “Carnival week,” and even typically the week before, many Caribana bands also set days within these weeks for costume distribution and pick-up.
This means that if you went (or may not have gone) to a band launch, and/or bought and potentially customized a costume, then it’s during these weeks that you would go pick it up.
I’ll go more into costume pick up and the day of the Caribana parade itself in a separate post.
For me this year, my Caribana 2022 week began on Carnival Thursday (since my original Wednesday costume pick up date had been moved) and I’m here to talk about one of the most popular events on Carnival Thursday: SOCA OR DIE.
In this post I'll be highlighting the following:
* Tap any of points above to be directly taken to that section of this post!
What is Soca or Die?
Soca or Die is a popular fete hosted by one of the more popular Toronto/Caribbean-based DJs, Dr. Jay. (You’ll recall I talked about him from my Soca on ice post here) and it’s hosted at the Cabana Pool Bar which is all the way downtown.
Soca or Die this year is happening in 3 installments. The first one was during the Canada Day long weekend (Canada day is July 1st)
The second instalment that this post is about, is the Carnival Thursday one, landing on whichever Thursday is the same week of the grand parade.
And the third and final instalment will be during the Labour day long weekend (Labour day is the first Monday in September.)
Every single one of these events sells out way in advance. In fact I didn’t even get through for the first, second or third tier wave ticket drops because they sold out in minutes each time for the Carnival Thursday Soca or Die.
Dr. Jay did one final ticket drop (mind you by that time the ticket was like $73.00CAD before tax and online service charge) but after a couple page refreshers, I landed a ticket just moments before it was announced on Instagram that the entire event was completely sold out and no more tickets would be sold.
If you’re looking for an additional event to add to your Toronto Carnival/Caribana roster, and have never been to one yet, then I’d recommend checking out Soca or Die.
It’s an event slightly more on the ‘stush’ side as we would say back home. (Stush = A little posh, a little classy, some may even say snobbish)
The Cabana pool bar isn’t your typical bar and lounge. I'd say it’s a little more dressed up, you feel a fancier energy to it. The location's website has as it's dress code: "Sophisticated and casual chic beach attire," and the outfits I’d seen for this event ranged from shorts and nice shirts, to dresses, to bikinis and cover ups, heels, sandals, sneakers and more.
I opted for some white shorts with a white cropped top, paired with some white wedges. (All white everything.)
Some of my friends had on bikinis, and matching sets, but if you’re looking for a more dressed up event for Carnival Week (compared to ones where your outfit is the least of your worries like a J’ouvert party,) this is your chance to dress up a likkle if you’re looking to go more out.
Here was my fit this year. I clearly felt a lil cute.
Soca or Die: Ticket prices
Regarding the prices, this event in my opinion borders a little more on the tad expensive side, depending on how late you try to secure your tickets.
As I mentioned earlier, this is one of the most highly anticipated Caribana events for the season, so you'll want to try to get your ticket as early as possible if this is an event you're looking to attend.
This year, the ticket drop announcement was made about a month in advance for the first tier drop (around mid-late June) and in under 48 hours, the online ticket platforms like Ticketgateway were already sold out.
Even some of the in-person locations where you can buy tickets were either sold out or very low stock in a matter of hours.
Those first wave/early bird tickets went for $50.00CAD before tax and online service charge, which is the starting price for this event if you buy it from an authorized outlet.
The second and third tiers go for about $60.00 - $70.00CAD (again, before tax and online service charge, and through the authorized vendors.)
I would say overall, the maximum amount you can expect to pay for a ticket for this event once it's purchased from an authorized outlet or vendor, including the tax and service charge is about $80.00CAD. This is going based off me getting my ticket online at literally the last minute.
Expect to potentially pay a lot more if you try to buy a ticket from a re-seller, aka someone who purchased a ticket early, and is looking to sell their ticket, typically for a much higher price.
This isn't always the case, since some people may sell their tickets for prices similar to what they're going for, due to reasons like being unable to attend, but there is a heightened chance of people doubling the selling price of the tickets since the event is very high in demand. Some people will pay almost anything, and the re-sellers are quite aware of this.
The event promoters always issue warnings to be careful of who you buy your tickets from if they aren't from the listed authorized sellers, because we also know there are scammers out there.
It's most recommended to buy your tickets either online or from the list of in-person outlets that Dr. Jay usually notes in the Instagram captions when he announces the ticket drops.
(Dr. Jay's instagram handle is @Socaprince)
This is just an example of one of the Instagram posts straight from Dr. Jay's profile listing the authorized places where you can secure a ticket for the event.
Soca or Die: The experience
Regarding the event itself, it runs from 3pm - 9pm.
Now that I'm a working girl, I had to speed home to get ready right after work in under 30 minutes, to then speed to the event to meet my friends for the 5:30pm time everyone decided to go for.
The event promoters recommend you go as early as possible, but we know black people, and Caribbean people hate to be the people to start, or open the party, and we tend to pull up at the fete a little later.
There was a bit of a line up by the time I got there, and a little traffic since the location of the event, Cabana Pool bar, is located in an area notorious for traffic.
If you're going to this event, and you don't have a booth booked, I'd recommend getting there for about 4-4:30ish, since it can get pretty packed inside, and you'll want to find a good spot for you and your team a little early on, to avoid getting stuck shuffling through the crowd of people all afternoon.
The line was a little long by the time I got in it around 5:30pm, but it moved relatively quickly, and we were inside by about 6:00pm.
The Cabana Pool Bar is an outside, open air bar and lounge location, with the DJ booth in the middle, and 'Cabanas' all around the sides of the space which are the booths people would've booked and paid for in advance.
There's a bar closer to the entrance, a pool, and a 'deck' to the far right of the location, which overlooks the Toronto skyline (great photo op location as you can see below)
We got a few drinks at the bar too, which were a little steep in price, but nothing too surprising for a Downtown Toronto hot spot.
For a vodka-orange for example, I paid $10, which was lowkey on the cheaper side as far as the drinks went at the bar at the location itself (which is why people pre-game sometimes, because it can save you money in the long run.)
Prepare for a bit of a wait at the bar though, this is a really populated event.
As far as the vibe of the event goes, it's a pretty nice event overall. This was my first time ever attending a Soca or Die event, so I wasn't too sure what to expect, but I went in with the mindset that I was going to have a great time.
Dr. Jay is a well known Soca DJ for a reason, and with the name of the event being 'Soca or Die,' all afternoon long, we had back to back Soca playing all through the event, from all different islands (So if you're not a Soca fan, this event may not be your cup of tea.)
With the Cabana pool bar location again being on a more 'stush' type of energy, it's not one of those events that gets super crazy as far as other fetes around Carnival season go, like J'ouvert, or water fetes, but it's still really fun, and once you go with people you enjoy spending time with, you're guaranteed to have a great time.
Plus, who doesn't love a chance to dress up, look cute, and dance with their friends while Soca music plays in the background, helping you really get into the Carnival season energy.
Soca can put anyone in a good mood, so pair it with a great team of friends, a nice open air space, good music, good people, good vibes (and some eye candy occasionally passing by too) this is a really fun event.
It's ultimately your typical type of fete, no real extra add-ons (if you were to compare it to being covered with paint and powder at a J'ouvert fete, or being sprayed with water at a water fete) but I would still say it's a nice, relatively calm way to start off your Toronto Carnival week of festivities, and start building up your stamina before the Grand Parade itself on Saturday.
Plus, it's always nice to attend a variety of events, to really broaden your Carnival experience.
I had a great time, who doesn't love a Carnival event!
This was one of those events where everyone was just vibing off the blissful energy of being back in the Carnival moment again, after two whole years of missing out on the annual celebrations we would always look forward to around this time of year.
I would give it an 8/10. Definitely one to check out!
THINGS TO NOTE:
🥂 Price/Entry fee: $50-$100 (Depending on the ticket tier you get tickets in, or if you purchase it from a re-seller)
🥂 Time of year: late July
🥂 Average amount of time expected to spend here: 3+ hours
🥂 Location: Cabana Poolbar, 11 Polson Street, Downtown Toronto
