BRANKA CARIBBEAN FOLK FESTIVAL NOW PART OF CARIBBEAN TOURISM WEEK IN NYC

The cultures of several islands of the Caribbean will be on display in Queens, New York on June 7 with the staging of the inaugrual Bankra Caribbean Folk Festival at the Jamaica Performing Arts Center on Jamaica Avenue.

The Bankra Caribbean Folk Festival forms part of the annual celebration of Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) Week in New York that brings together a group of 32 regional destinations for seven days of jam-packed activities to market and promote the region.

Jamaican cultural impresario in New York, Andrew Clarke is the brainchild behind this daytime festival that will include live performances by Braata Folk Singers from Jamaica, Something Positive Inc., Boodoosingh Tassa Group and Adlib Steel Orchestra from Trinidad & Tobago, La Troupe Zetwal from Haiti, Quake USA from Grenada and Impressions Dance Theatre from Guyana.

“June is Caribbean Month in New York, and we wanted to go all out this year to retain and celebrate many of the cultural elements that make the Caribbean region so vibrant”, Clarke said. “It is with this spirit in mind that we created the Bankra Caribbean Folk Festival”, he added

The Bankra festival has been designed for the entire family, so there will also be a village for children with JJ The Clown, Honeybee Face & Body Art and face painting for kids. Additionally, attendees can also enjoy folk games and dances, drumming sessions, basket weaving displays and a magician. No such Caribbean event is complete with the mouthwatering flavors of the region, so a food pavilion will provide a dazzling array of signature dishes that represent the gastronomic diversity of the islands.

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Impressions Dance Theatre from Guyana