One Caribbean Canada Celebrates First-Ever Media Awards!!

TORONTO, Ontario — May 22, 2025 — One Caribbean Canada (OCC), the collaborative platform representing 26 Caribbean tourism offices across Canada, marked a historic milestone this week with the successful staging of two landmark events in Toronto — the inaugural One Caribbean Canada Media Awards Luncheon and the One Caribbean Canada Travel Trade Expo.

A joyful, happy group representing the Caribbean at the first ever One Caribbean Canada Media Awards!

A First-Ever Celebration of Caribbean Storytelling

Held at the Old Mill Toronto, the One Caribbean Canada Media Awards Luncheon brought together some of Canada’s most respected travel journalists, editors, photographers, and content creators for a morning meet and greet with Caribbean tourism officials, followed by a luncheon and the presentation of the region’s first-ever Canadian media awards dedicated exclusively to Caribbean travel writing.

“The Caribbean needs your voice, your firsthand experiences, and your authentic storytelling now more than ever,” said the founder of One Caribbean Canada in her address to the room. “The story today is not simply one of sun and sand — it is a story of partnership, innovation, culture, sustainability, and global relevance.”

Five award categories were established for the inaugural program. Due to minimum submission requirements, awards were presented in three categories, with the organization committed to expanding the program in 2026.

2025 One Caribbean Canada Media Award Winners

Congratulations to Melaya Horsten for Where in the World: St. Kitts & Nevis, published in Ignite Magazine.

Trade Publication — Best Feature in a Trade Publication:

Melaya Horsten for Where in the World: St. Kitts & Nevis, published in Ignite Magazine. The award was presented by Mark Johnston of Fathom Communications on behalf of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority.

Congratulations to Adam Waxman for The Mystique of Martinique featured in DINE & Destinations Magazine

Online Digital Category — Best Feature in an Online Publication:

Adam Waxman for The Mystique of Martinique, featured in DINE & Destinations Magazine. Judges praised the piece for its exceptional craft and sensory immersion, noting that it avoided the recycled language of typical travel writing in favour of vivid, distinctive imagery. A runner-up recognition was made to Kailash Maharaj for Making Waves (Turks & Caicos), which appeared in the Spring edition of City Style & Living.

Congratulations to Vawn Himmelsbach for Whispers of The Caribbean – St. Vincent and The Grenadines, published in BOLD Traveller Magazine

Consumer Newspaper/Magazine — Best Feature Article in a Canadian Consumer Newspaper/Magazine (Print):

Vawn Himmelsbach for Whispers of The Caribbean – St. Vincent and The Grenadines, published in BOLD Traveller Magazine. An honourable mention was awarded to the article À La Rencontre des Artistes (Guadeloupe), which appeared in Le Devoir. The award was presented by Shelley John and Anja Brokjans of Vox International on behalf of St. Vincent and The Grenadines.

Winners received a certificate of achievement, a digital icon recognizing them as the first-ever One Caribbean Canada Media Award recipients, and a piece of Circle Moss living wall art by Green Stems of British Columbia — a gift that reflects the organization’s commitment to sustainability and the natural world.

The Judges

The 2025 awards were adjudicated by a distinguished panel of five Canadian travel media professionals: Bert Archer, editor of TravelPulse Québec and the panel’s bilingual judge; Michele Peterson, travel journalist and publisher of A Taste for Travel, with extensive experience across 22 Caribbean countries; Simone Jennifer Smith, television host, mental health specialist, and Chief Reporter at the Toronto Caribbean Newspaper; Theresa Storm, two-time winner of the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s Canadian Travel Writer of the Year award; and Doug Wallace, travel and lifestyle journalist, author, and editor-publisher of TravelRight.Today. All submissions were fully redacted prior to judging to ensure fairness and impartiality.

One Caribbean Canada Travel Trade Expo

That same evening, OCC hosted its inaugural Travel Trade Expo — an exclusive networking event uniting airlines, tour operators, meeting planners, and retail head office personnel with Caribbean tourism boards for one-on-one meetings and meaningful business conversations.

Travel Trade Expo

One Caribbean Canada Unveils Largest Caribbean Event Calendar Ever Produced

In a further demonstration of its commitment to inspiring Canadians to explore the full depth and breadth of the Caribbean, One Caribbean Canada also announced the launch of its 2026 Caribbean Event Calendar — the largest compilation of Caribbean events ever produced.

Now live on the One Caribbean Canada website, the 2026 edition spans an impressive 72 pages of events taking place across the Caribbean — double the size of the 2025 edition, which ran 36 pages. The calendar covers events by month and by country, and for the first time includes an Events by Category section, allowing travel advisors and consumers alike to search for the type of experience that interests them most — whether that is food and culinary festivals, music events, carnivals, art festivals, sailing regattas, sporting events, or cultural celebrations.

The largest ever compilation of Caribbean Events…all together in the newest 2026 Caribbean Events created by One Caribbean Canada

Notably, this edition also includes the full Caribbean Premier League T-20 cricket calendar of matches taking place in August and September — a nod to the growing interest in sports tourism across the region.

“We know that the Caribbean is so much more than sun, sand, and sea,” said the founder of One Caribbean Canada. “This calendar is proof of that. Seventy-two pages of festivals, events, regattas, carnivals, and competitions — there is something for every kind of traveller, at every time of year.”

The 2026 Caribbean Event Calendar is available on the One Caribbean Canada website, and individual category lists — such as Food Festivals, Carnivals, or Sailing Regattas — are also available for travel advisors to share directly with their clients as inspiring and practical planning tools.