AFRO-LATINO Roots Explored at the Brooklyn Museum

First Saturday's at the Brooklyn Museum presents

June 4, 2011Afro-Latin Roots Music - 5–7 p.m.

Ghanaian recording artist Blitz the Ambassador celebrates his new album, Native Sun, with a live hip-hop set with The Embassy Ensemble.

Film - 6 p.m.
A Dios Momo (Leonardo Ricagni, 2005, 100 min.). An Afro-Uruguayan boy learns about life and his heritage through the songs of Carnival. Free tickets (330) available at the Visitor Center at 5 p.m.

Performance - 6 p.m.
Queer Nigerian poet Yvonne Fly Onakeme Etaghene presents her one-woman show Volcano’s Birthright{s}. Free tickets (25) available at the Visitor Center at 5 p.m.

Hands-on Art - 6:30–8:30 p.m.
Create an Inca-inspired work of art. Free timed tickets (380) available at the Visitor Center at 5:30 p.m.

Curator Talk - 7 p.m.
Curator of African Art Kevin Dumouchelle discusses highlights of the African collection. Free tickets (30) available at the Visitor Center at 6 p.m.

Dance Party - 8–10 p.m.
DJ Spinna plays a variety of world music.

Book Club - 9 p.m.Join a discussion of Junot Díaz’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Riverhead, 2007), about Dominicans and Dominican Americans of African descent living in the United States.

Music - 9–10 p.m.
Cuban musician Juan-Carlos Formell taps into the African roots of the Caribbean experience. This concert is co-presented by the Museum and the Neighborhood Concert Series of Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute.

Late Night in the Galleries - 10–11 p.m.
All galleries open.

Sponsored by

 Made possible by the Wallace Foundation Community Programs Fund, established by the Wallace Foundation, with additional support from DLA Piper, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, The Ellis A. Gimbel Trust, National Grid, and other donors.

Major support also provided by The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.

New York Times Community Affairs Department, media sponsor.
WNYC Radio, broadcast media sponsor.

At the Brooklyn Museum's Target First Saturdays, thousands of visitors enjoy free programs of art and entertainment each month from 5 to 11 p.m. All evening long, the Museum Café serves a wide selection of sandwiches, salads, and beverages, and a cash bar offers wine and beer. Parking is a flat rate of $4 starting at 5 p.m. All other Saturdays, the Museum closes at 6 p.m.

Please note that due to limited capacities, some Target First Saturday programs require tickets. Ticket lines often form 30 minutes before ticket distribution at the Visitor Center located in the Rubin Lobby. Members may pick up tickets from the Membership Desk beginning at 2 p.m. while supplies last. Programs subject to change without notice.

Sign up for the Target First Saturday e-mail list or subscribe to updates via RSS.

The Brooklyn Museum & POV (Point of View) Screening

Brooklyn Museum presents The Oath, an award-winning film by Oscar nominee Laura Poitras.

Photo courtesy of Praxis Films

The Oath (Laura Poitras, 2010, 90 min.). Filmed in Yemen and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, this is a story about the fateful 1996 encounter between a man who would later serve as a bodyguard to Osama Bin Laden and a future prisoner of Guantánamo Bay. The fallout of that meeting set them on a path twisting toward 9/11 and beyond. Through a narrative rife with reversals, twists, and turns, director Poitras showcases the complexity and confusion surrounding these globally significant events. Winner of the 2010 Sundance Film Festival Excellence in Cinematography Award: Documentary. A co-production of ITVS in association with American Documentary/POV.

This event is a collaboration with the award-winning documentary series POV. Free with Museum admission. As seating is limited, advance ticket purchase for general admission and a reserved seat at the screening is recommended at http://www.museumtix.com/.

When: 7:00 PM , June 23rd, 2011 Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Auditorium, 3rd Floor


Where: Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY 11238-6052


Cost: FREE with Museum admission


Who: Award-winning film editor Jonathan Oppenheim will be in attendance for a Q&A after the film.

NYC Summer Stage 2011

Hello SummerStage Fans!

On Tuesday, June 14, 2011, City Parks Foundation (CPF) will welcome guests to the SummerStage Gala, an annual fundraising benefit, to support CPF's free year-round arts programming. This year's concert is an evening of classic Motown hits! Bleachers seats are just $49, see below or visit www.summerstage.org/gala for details and to purchase tickets.

SummerStage Gala
Motown Meets NYC
Tuesday, June 14, 2011

CLICK HERE TO BUY $49 GENERAL ADMISSION TICKETS


Schedule of Events:
6:00 p.m. VIP Cocktail Party
7:00 p.m. Dinner
8:00 p.m. Concert

On Tuesday, June 14, 2011, City Parks Foundation (CPF) will welcome guests to the SummerStage Gala, an annual fundraising benefit, to support CPF's free year-round arts programming. This year's concert is an evening of classic Motown hits starring:

Martha Reeves "Dancing in the Street"
Percy Sledge "When a Man Loves a Woman"
Dennis Edwards "My Girl"
Bettye Lavette
Joan Osborne • Ryan Shaw • José James
Amel Larrieux • Eli "PaperBoy" Reed
Deva Mahal • Robert Earl Keen

and featuring
The New York Pops
Steven Reineke, Music Director and Conductor

The night begins at 6:00 p.m. with a cocktail party for table purchasers held in the Pergola Area at SummerStage. At 7:00 p.m., tables of ten are served a full dinner and tables of four are provided with a light snack, followed by the concert at 8:00 p.m.

Central Park SummerStage is located at Rumsey Playfield (72nd Street, mid-park). Event is rain or shine.

Sunset Soca @ the Brooklyn Bridge Conservancy Park

Sunset Soca, Thursday, June 2
6:00pm - 9:00pm, Pier 1

The weather looks fantastic, and Pier 1 is about to get hot, hot, hot.

Only 1 more day to get your tickets for the party that kicks off summer. Sunset Soca will transform Pier 1 into a Caribbean hotspot, with island rhythms, delicious food and specialty cocktails, and a very special silent auction with vacation homes, one-of-a-kind tours, and more. Check out all the auction items and plan your bids!

Live Caribbean music, island-inspired food & cocktails, children's activities, and a silent auction ... all to benefit free public programming in the park.

Thursday, June 2, 6:00-9:00pm, Pier 1

Ticket sales are open online until Thursday at 3:00pm!

Individual tickets are $125 online; $150 at the door.

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW

Since 2001, Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy's annual Sunset fundraiser has raised money to support free public programming in the park. The Conservancy is proud to honor David Kramer and the New York Water Taxi & Helena Durst; these park champions have helped reclaim the Brooklyn Waterfront and bring Brooklyn Bridge Park to life.

If you can't attend Sunset Soca this year, please consider making a donation to show your support for a world-class park on the Brooklyn waterfront.

For more information, email or call Richard Loyd at 718-802-0603. Proceeds from Sunset Soca support free public programming in Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Beer lovingly provided by Brooklyn Brewery
Wine and spirits graciously donated by Heights Chateau
Children's activities provided by Half Pint Citizens

For more information and FREE upcoming events in Brooklyn Bridge Park check out brooklynbridgepark.org and brookynbridgeparknyc.org

Full Calendar of Events

Moonlight Storytelling... Folklore and more from Guyana...

Guyana Cultural Association launches it's 2011 Season with Moonlight Storytelling. Full Moon Storytelling Night: Folk Tales and Tellers from Guyana

This special event outside St. Stephen’s Church will feature Guyanese folk tales told by the light of the full moon. Featuring the stories of George Davidson, Winston "Jeggae" Hoppe and others from the Guyanese community with special guest tale teller Tammy Hall. Meet outside the church; in case of rain, inside the church. Click here for directions

Presented by Brooklyn Arts Council in cooperation with the Guyana Cultural Association

WHEN: Wednesday, June 1, 6:30-8:30pm
WHERE: St. Stephen’s Church
E.28th St and Newkirk Avenue (East Flatbush

Artist Bios

Robin Bady is a storyteller who draws upon world folklore, fairy tales, oral traditions, ghost stories and literature for fun interactive storytelling performances that educate as well as entertain. With guitar and songs, movement and madcap characterizations, she brings her stories to joyful life, creating an electric and engaging rapport with her audience. Her storytelling connects us to each other across cultures, traditions and time, powerfully reminding us that we are all members of one world family.

Grace Chapman is an educator, folklorist and performance artist. Over the past twenty years, Ms. Chapman has developed curricula to enhance learning through use of the creative arts, with a focus on underserved student populations. Recognized as one of Guyana’s leading performance artists and folklorists, she has written, directed, and appeared in several critically acclaimed productions which explore diverse themes of Guyanese/Caribbean history, culture and folklore. These presentations include The Green Bottle, Ghost at El Dorado, and Ol’ Higue.

George Davidson was born in Guyana in 1938. He has lived in Brooklyn for many years, but he retains traditional folktales learned from his mother and father when he was a boy and others learned later from his wife. Some of these tales have an African lineage, such as the Nansi spider trickster tales. Others are part of a broader lineage of malevolent female shape-shifter and witch stories, such as Ole Higue (Old Hag), told in different traditions throughout the world. George exemplifies the kind of traditional storytelling that is culturally specific, learned informally and performed in intimate settings on moonlight story nights.

Tammy Hall, a former New York City teacher and advocate for literacy, has been called “Storyteller Supreme” and conducts storytelling and writing workshops throughout the greater metropolitan area. As an African-American and native of Clarksville, Tennessee, she draws from her black southern rural heritage to deliver an unforgettable tale. Listening to wonderful stories at the foot of her first and most memorable storyteller, her father, had a profound effect on her life. Ms. Hall believes storytelling to be an artistic, expressive way of bringing people together and guiding them on a journey of the world’s cultures, peoples, and landscapes through imagination.

Winston "Jeggae" Hoppie is well-known in his Brooklyn community as a percussionist and poet. As a drummer for the Spiritual Baptist Church, he plays for church services, weddings, and funeral wakes. He has expert knowledge of Guyanese folk traditions in music and story. He performs traditional story genres from Guyana such as the ballad “Uncle Joe,” the story song “Jane Engaged,” as well as legends associated with the bottle genie called bakou.

Event Flyer

Source

NJ Senator to be honored at CABA's 2011 Gala Dinner

The Caribbean American Business Association of New Jersey to honor State Senator

MAPLEWOOD, NJ, - May 23, 2011: -- The Caribbean American Business Association (CABA) of New Jersey will be hosting its annual Gala Dinner on Saturday, June 4, 2011 at the Newark Liberty Airport Marriott Hotel. Tickets are $100.

Presided over by founder Vincent Huggins, the six year-old not for profit organization has garnered support in its short history form New Jersey’s elected official like Congressman Donald Payne, Senator Ronald Rice and former Governor Jon Corzine and several Counsel Generals from many Caribbean countries.  Mr. Huggins is also the founder of National Staffing Associates which has been doing business for more than 20 years in Essex County, NJ providing staff for medical and other health care facilities.

Annually the group honors those who’ve helped foster an economic and cultural growth and improvement by visionary business leaders who contribute and support many in New Jersey and its Caribbean American community and the greater Diaspora. The Gala Dinner will honor Senator Rice this year among the stalwarts who in public service in Essex County; along with East Orange General Hospital and others.

L:- R:-- Congressman Payne accepts award from CABA President, Vincent Huggins

Past honorees include Judge Julien Neals, Corporation Counsel for the City of Newark; as Corporation Counsel, Judge Neals manages attorneys who practice in areas, including Contracts & Legislation, Labor, Civil Litigation, Real Estate, Tax Appeals & Tax Abatements, Workers’ Compensation and Municipal Prosecutions and Trevor Layne MD, a leading oncologist in New Jersey. They were recognized for their strength, courage, vision and commitment in upholding a positive image in the community.

For tickets and to the gala and for more information about the organization;  to join the mailing list and/or becoming a member of CABA, visit the website at http://www.cabanj.org/.

Losing another Stalwart as Dr. Marco Mason succumbs to Cancer...

PANAMA-BORN ACTIVIST PASSES ON

March 8, 2011

Dr. Mason was honored last year. (Hayden Roger Celestin image)

News Americas, Brooklyn, NY, Tues. Mar. 8, 2011: Respected Panamanian-born medical sociologist, educator and community activist, Dr. Marco Mason, has passed away after a battle with cancer, New Americas has learnt.

Mason died yesterday at a Brooklyn hospital after a battle with the disease.

Mason migrated to the U.S. from Panama in the early 1960s and became a key part of the Caribbean immigrant community in New York City, advising politicians, business owners and governmental agencies of the importance of the demographics. He later went on to found the Caribbean Women’s Health Association in 1981, along with Yvonne Graham, the current Brooklyn Deputy Borough president, and also the Panamanian Council of New York.

Mason also served on the faculty of a number of colleges and universities, including at the State University of New York at Stony Brook; School of Social Work, School of Medicine, and School of Health Management and Technology and was a technical expert in U.S. Immigration Policy. He was cited by the US Department of Justice for his “Outstanding Services In Assisting Immigrants With Status Adjustments.”

Mason also served as an invaluable adviser to numerous organizations and businesses and was also the first vice chairman of Brooklyn’s Community Board 9.

Funeral arrangements were yet to be announced as of press time.

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