Young boy presents his favorite gal a bouquet for Mother’s Day, one of the most significant holidays in the Haitian community.
Personally, Gina Faustin will be “singing, dancing, expecting gifts and good wishes from my family and friends” on Mother’s Day. Publicly, she’ll be sponsoring one of the many area events honoring Caribbean moms.
Three icon Haitian bands — Tabou Combo, the System Band and Skah Shah — will be headlining the Spring Gala Mother’s Day Extravaganza at Terrace on the Park in Queens on May 12. The event is presented by Faustin's Kompa Guide Media firm and Creole TV-NYC.
“Mother’s Day in the Haitian community is one of the most significant holidays,” said Faustin, adding that May is also Haitian Heritage Month. “Mother’s Day is the best,” she said, fondly recalling her late mother, Anrelina (a.k.a. Angie) who was born in Petionville, Haiti.
Here are more Mother’s Day events and activities in the area:
* The Hibiscus Health & Wellness Center is ready to pamper and baby your mother this holiday season by offering a Mother’s Day Spa Bruch — featuring three special spa packages — on May 13, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The urban retreat, located in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, is offering the “Mummy & Me” spa package — facials, manicures or spa pedicures for two; “Mom’s Day of Ecstasy” — a facial, foot reflexology, and a full-body aromatherapy massage; and the “Fantasy Spa” package — Caribbean Grapefruit/Lemongrass Body Scrub, a Fusion Massage, and a Caribbean Queen Facial.
* The Community Mother’s Award black-tie brunch and reception sponsored by the Long Island-based Haitian Americans United for Change, on Saturday at the Venetian Yacht Club, 494 Fire Island Ave. in Babylon, L. I., from noon to 4 p.m.
Tickets are $55 per person. For reservations, call (888) 509-4282, extension 101 or send email to info@hauc.org. And visit the organization's website:hauc.org.
n The 98-year-old Montserrat Progressive Society of New York, will present its annual Mother’s Day Extravaganza on May 13 at the Eastwood Manor in the Bronx.
Honorees include Sarita Weekes-Francis, deputy governor of Montserrat; the Rev. Franklin Reid, former rector, of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in the Bronx and priest in charge of St. Mary’s Parish Churches in Antigua; and Boston centenarian Margaret Greer.
A reception starts the event at 2 p.m. with an open bar, dinner and program at 3 p.m., followed by dancing.
Tickets are $90 per person. For information, visit mpsofny.org or call (212) 283-3346 or (914) 426-1690.
* The Mother’s Day All-Star Caribbean Festival is a New York institution that’s been making mothers smile — and dance in the aisles
This year’s show will be held May 12 at the Brooklyn Center for Performing Arts, Brooklyn College.
The show features Trinidad and Tobago calypso monarch Dwayne O'Conner, Barbados calypso and road march winner Red Plastic Bag, popular singer Allrounder, soca music star Edwin Yearwood, calypso greats Black Stalin, Sugar Aloes and Denyse Plummer and many others.
Tickets for the Mother’s Day show are $40, $55, $60 and $65 and available at the Brooklyn Center box office by calling (718) 951-4500.
WIADCA preps for new era
Moving steadily and surely towards the Labor Day holiday, Brooklyn’s new West Indian American Day Carnival Association says preparation for the big event, and cooperation among participants, is strong.
“The organization’s membership has spoken. I am honored and humbled to become the third individual to lead this important group that is the lawful custodian of the annual Labor Day Carnival Festival,” said WIADCA President Thomas “Tom” Bailey, who was elected to replace Yolanda Lezama-Clarke who resigned last December.
“The new WIADCA Team has met with mas and steel bands,” said Bailey, who places “improving relations with all of the carnival festival’s stakeholders” at the top of his priority list.
“Let us usher in a new era of cooperation and friendship. I want to hear from you and what are your concerns. This festival is bigger than one individual or organization. We must come together to take it to new and bigger heights. I need your help and support,” Bailey said.
Virgo plays S.O.B.s
There’ll be a good taste of talented VP recording artist Romain Virgo available this week. The 22-year-old singer will be performing tomorrow at S.O.B.s in Manhattan. He’ll be releasing his second album, “The System,” on May 8.
For information on the S.O.B.s show, visit sobs.com or call (212) 243-4940. Also visitvprecords.com
Deadline’s close for Caribbean students’ scholarships
Peace and Love Academic Scholarship (PALAS), a grant for academically-sound, economically-challenged students in Jamaica and the rest of the Caribbean, is available for 50 students in the 2012-2013 academic year.
The applications must be submitted by May 1 and can be completed online.
The scholarship, started in 2010 by the Atlanta-based PALAS charity, was created by executive director Rula Brown to honor aspiring Jamaican artist Vanessa Campbell, who as a crime victim in her Caribbean homeland.
It began as the Vanessa Campbell Academic Scholarship, aiding students at her alma mater, Bridgeport High School. The charity evolved into the PALAS charity and is open to students throughout the region.
The organization has been holding benefits to meet its goal of raising $20,000 for scholarships. Last week, PALAS hosted a fundraiser in Decatur, Georgia at the Vibes Night Club.
The group has partnered with Jamaican playwright Debra Ehrhardt to hold a benefit performance of her one-woman show “Jamaica Farewell” and joined with Caribbean Radio Show host Evelyn Richardson to raise money for the De La Vega City Basic School in St. Catherine, Jamaica.
Visit www.palas1.org for applications, general information and sponsorship opportunities. And for more information, send email to peaceandlovescholarship@gmail.com.
‘Movements & Moments’ exhibit honors artists’ group
“Movements and Moments in Spring,” an art exhibition celebrating Women’s History Month and the 53rd anniversary of the National Conference of Artists, is on display in Manhattan at the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, 515 Malcolm X Blvd. (at W. 135th St.)
The works of artists Ann Tanksley, Betty Blayton, Deborah Shedrick, Dindga McCannon, Gloria Aziza Lawyer, Howardena Pindell and Sadikisha Saundra Collier are featured in the show, which runs through Dec. 31 in the Schomburg’s American Negro Theatre.
Gloria Aziza Lawyer is also curator for the show honoring the NCA, founded in 1959 at during the opening of the Atlanta University’s 18th annual art exhibition.
The exhibition can be seen at the Schomburg Center Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For information, call (212) 491-2200.
Great praise for outgoing St. Lucia ambassador
Keith St. Aimee, St. Lucia’s outgoing ambassador to the United Nations, left a great legacy of support for nationals in the U.S., according to representatives of the Saint Lucia House Foundation, an umbrella group of tri-state area Saint Lucian organizations.
In a recent statement, the organization lauded St. Aimee for his remarkable stewardship and unflinching support of the organization.”
Foundation President Mathias Wilkie praised St. Aimee “for the establishment of the Saint Lucia House Foundation and the improved relations between the office of the Consulate General in New York and Saint Lucians in the Diaspora, which I hope will continue to flourish with the incoming ambassador.”
Reggae greats Jimmy Cliff and Beres Hammond and R&B stars R. Kelly and Boyz II Men are part of an amazing lineup of performers for the “Grooving In the Park: A Day of Reggae Rhythm & Blues” at Roy Wilkins Park in Queens on July 1.
A complete lineup of artists is still being developed, according to event organizer Christopher Roberts, CEO of Groovin Inc., who said he’s thrilled with the acquisition of the four major performers.
“I am very excited about the lineup,” said Roberts. “The acts we have booked so far – Jimmy, R Kelly, Boyz II Men and Beres – represents the best of reggae and R&B and I am confident they will deliver a spectacular concert for fans. We are still looking to add more acts to complete the lineup.”
Financial literacy workshops equal good business
Financial literacy, the invaluable skills and knowledge of financial matters and money management will be the focus of two important sessions presented by the Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Saturday and May 10 in Brooklyn.
The Saturday Financial Literacy Workshop will be held at the Brooklyn Christian Center, 1065 Atlantic Ave., at 10 a.m. The May 10 workshop will take place at St. Gregory the Great School, 2520 Church Ave., at 1 p.m.
CACCI will also be sponsoring a Small Business Membership Networking Brunch at on May 26 at the Flatbush-Caton Market Conference Center, 814 Flatbush Ave, (at Caton Ave.), starting at 11 a.m.
Pre-registration is required for all CACCI events. Call (718) 834-4544, send email to info@caccitradecenter.com and visit www.caribbeantradecenter.com.
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