Organizers of the New York Caribbean Carnival are celebrating a landmark anniversary in 2017 — a 50th birthday.
The Brooklyn-based West Indian American Day Carnival — rooted to centuries-old Caribbean traditions and linked to New York festivities dating back to the 1930s — will start its golden anniversary celebration with a black tie gala on April 27 at the El Caribe Country Club at 5945 Strickland Ave. in Brooklyn.
WIADCA runs the annual 5-day costumed-filled carnival and street fair, which is one of the largest festivals in the U.S., along Brooklyn’s Eastern Parkway.
For information on the gala and other WIADCA events, call (718) 467-1797 and visit www.wiadcacarnival.org.
BLACK SPECTRUM’S CARIBBEAN FEST
Guyana-born playwright/actress Ingrid Griffith’s moving one-woman play “Demerara Gold” kicks off the Black Spectrum Theatre’s first annual “Caribbean Music, Comedy and Theater Festival,” a month-long collection of theater, music and culture.
Griffith deftly portrays 18 characters in the play, which can be seen Saturday at 8 .m. Tickets are $25 online and $35 at the door.
A concert featuring Jamaican music star Denroy Morgan and Caribbean comedians (April 8), the reading of Marcha Tracey’s new play Paradise Plume (April 13), and the Trinidad and Tobago play “My Countrymen” by Harlan Penn (April 21 through 23) are the other festival events.
To purchase tickets for any festival events, visit http://bit.ly/Caribbeanfestival2017
To make a reservation or get information, call the Black Spectrum Theatre at (718) 723-1800 and visit www.blackspectrum.com.
FUNDRAISING TO AID VISITING CARIBBEAN ATHLETES
Headed towards the 2017 Penn Relays track meet, the Team Jamaica Bickle hospitality initiative is presenting events and fund-raising to meet its goal of aiding Caribbean scholastic athletes competing in the Philadelphia event.
Despite fund-raising challenges, TJB members and supporters are working hard to provide visiting students from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Guyana with chiropractic and medical services, daily hot meals, ground transportation and assistance with hotel accommodations.
A Thanksgiving service today at the Lenox Road Baptist Church in Brooklyn kicks off a series of events, which include participating in Bickle Week, from April 18 to 25, in conjunction with New York area restaurants; working with Philadelphia restaurants during Caribbean Cusine Week, April 25 to 28; the annual breakfast at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in the Bronx on April 23; and a Thanksgiving service in Valley Stream, L.I., at St. John’s United Methodist Church on April 23. The Penn Relays take place April 27 to 29.
“As things change, we have to constantly innovate when it comes to fund-raising,” said TJB CEO Irwine Clare. “What we have seen in recent years is a willingness of individuals to host private events to assist us. We continue to diversify our efforts and solidify our mission as our athletes and ambassadors remain our priority,” he said.
Visit www.teamjamaicabickle.org, call (718) 523-2861 or send email to info@teamjamaicabickle.org.
AFRICA MEETS CUBA CONCERT
Afro-Cuban pianist Elio Villafranca is bringing his “Cuba – Senegal: Letters to Mother Africa II” concert, linking African percussion’s influence on jazz and rumba, to City College Center for the Arts on Friday in Manhattan.
A string quartet and all-star band — Vince Herring (alto saxophone), Bruce Harris (trumpet), Steve Turre (trombone), Ricky Rodriguez (bass), Dion Parson (drums) and Miguelito Valdes (congas) – will back up Elio in the show.
To purchase tickets online, visit http://bit.ly/cubasenegal2017 and for more information, visit www.citycollegecenterforthearts.org.
MEDICAL GROUP’S BENEFIT
The Caribbean American Outreach Association fund-raiser Pre-Mother’s Day Brunch — with its fashion show and awards ceremony — is coming to the Riccardo’s By the Bridge, 21-01 24th Ave. in Astoria, Queens, on April 29.
Discount tickets are available until Thursday for the black-tie benefit that funds the CAOA’s health and medical testing missions to the Caribbean and community health fairs in America.
This year’s awardees are Jasmine Charles, Cammelita Smith, Tayeshia Cadore, Taryn Taylor-Brathwaite, Lorna Baachus, Jennilyn Jackman-Baptiste, Gladys William and Patricia Romain.
For tickets and information, call (347) 500-4551, (347) 549-7275 or (516) 286-5228.
LOSING HELEN CRAWFORD AT 103
Sadly, Helen Iris Crawford, the Antigua-born centenarian, who celebrated her 103rd birthday last week, died Thursday.
“Helen Iris Crawford died this morning,” wrote Antigua and Barbuda Progressive Society President Mona Wyre Manigo, a longtime friend of Crawford and her family.
The Antigua native and Elmont, L.I., resident marked her 103rd birthday on March 21. She is survived by a host of nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and other family members, who will cherish the contributions of the matriarch fondly known as Ms. Iris or Mommie.
After attending school and working in Antigua, Crawford came to the America, where she worked, met her expenses — and sent remittances to family members in back in the Caribbean.
DEREK WALCOTT TRIBUTES IN NYC
Derek Walcott, the Lucian poet, playwright, and 1992 Nobel Prize winner who died March 17, is being remembered for his contributions through events in New York.
“A Celebration of Sir Derek Alton Walcott” will be held April 8 at St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church, 331 Hawthorne St., in Brooklyn, starting at 3 p.m. The St. Lucia Consulate and St. Lucia’s Mission to the United Nations are presenting the tribute. To RSVP, send email to sluconsulateny@govt.lc.
Cosmos Richardson, St. Lucia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, was among the persons paying tribute to Walcott by signing the book of condolence at the offices of the St. Lucia Consulate and Permanent Mission of St. Lucia to the United Nations in Manhattan.
SOME WELL-DESERVED STUDENT AID
Congratulations to Jamaica-born Bariki Innis and Vanessa Rodriguez, students at Armory College Prep in Manhattan who were recently awarded New York Times College Scholarships, said a spokesman for The Armory Foundation.
Innis and Rodriguez are part of a group of 10 winners who will receive $15,000 in financial assistance annually while in college, get mentoring and opportunities for paid internships.
LIFE-SAVING CARE IN CAYMANS
Last year, Lakeisha Wilson desperately needed help for her two-year-old daughter Ala, who was diagnosed with Type 1 insulin-dependent diabetes.
And, in December, she got that help and more from Health City Cayman Islands hospital, home of the only pediatric endocrinologist permanently based in the Caribbean. With no diabetic specialists for children in Turks and Caicos where Wilson works, she went to the Health City Cayman Islands
Pediatric endocrinologist Dr. Deepa Subramonian addressed the challenge of controlling the toddler’s elevated and sometimes-erratic blood sugar levels by adjusting the child’s insulin regimen and monitoring.
In addition to the specialized medical care, Williams was comforted by the ambiance of the hospital and warmth of the staff.
“From the driver who picks you up at the airport to the international team members … who really go out of their way to make you feel important and make you feel comfortable,” said Williams.
