A sizzling plate of oxtail stew in rich tomato and onion sauce and a pot of curry goat once promised warmth against the chill of a Canadian winter. A 2006 Expositor article celebrated a local Jamaican family restaurant where dishes that once required a flight south were now within reach. Yet Brantford’s taste for the tropics began long before—back in 1972, when Jamaica Day turned the city into a week-long festival of colour and rhythm.

The celebration filled Colborne, Queen, and George Streets with music, laughter, and the aroma of Caribbean spice. Policemen joined the fun in chalk-white tunics and pith helmets, while restaurants served Jamaican specialties and entertainers from the islands played to jubilant crowds. Mayor Howard Winter called it “a festival to become synonymous with the city and downtown”—and for a moment, it was.