Nicole Seaforth in the Carnival Nationz mas band at the annual Caribana Parade in Toronto on July 31, 2010. (Ernest Doroszuk/QMI Agency)

TORONTO - There was no room to stand still on Lakeshore Blvd. Saturday as tens of thousands jumped up for the 43rd annual Caribana parade.

The parade route from Exhibition Place was littered in glitter and feathers as 10,000 costumed dancers and 14 mas bands made their way to Jameson Ave.

"The costumes, the music and the friends make it so much fun," said Ruth-Ann Gordon, 23, who was part of the NAME band and lives in Mississauga, but is originally from Jamaica.

"It's so much fun and crazy, just keep jumping."

The event is renowned as one of the biggest cultural festivals in the world and the parade itself attracts more than 1.2 million people into Toronto, said Caribana spokesman Alicia Sealey.

"The parade just lends itself to being so fabulously visual," she said.

"It's the only thing of its kind in Canada, this kind of carnival. In the 1990s when Americans realized that our Caribana was so great, they started coming and started to bring their friends. Now we're starting to spread out to other cultures -- the Italians, the Greeks, the Chinese, they're coming as well."

The parade was scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. and finish by 6 p.m., but got off to a late start. By 3 p.m., the bands were only just beginning to move towards the Jameson bridge.

"I find that the organization of the bands have kind of deteriorated a little bit and there's too much of a gap between -- there was an hour between the next band," said Paula Delsol, 54, who has been attending Caribana for over 20 years.

"Best part of Caribana is the Caribbean integration, just coming together and enjoying the food. Getting to know each other and show how diverse the Caribbean community is."

Caribana brings in roughly $350 million to the local economy, but for spectators and dancers in the parade, it's all about fun.

"It's a real cultural event," said Shemika Lovay-Phillips, a 14-year-old wearing an afro and covered in sparkles who led the Disco Fever mas band.

"This is my third time. I like how everyone takes the time once a year to make up their own costume. It's a very creative thing, but you don't have to be creative to play. You just have to have fun."

jenny.yuen@sunmedia.ca