SUNSHINE Awards Organization Celebrates 25 Years in Tobago

New Jersey, September 15, 2013. The SUNSHINE Awards Organization today announced in New Jersey that it will celebrate the 25th Annual SUNSHINE Awards with two milestone events. The first will be the SUNSHINE Awards Ball, a black tie event scheduled for Saturday October 12, 2013 at the Magdalena Grand Beach Resort in Tobago, and the second will be the SUNSHINE Awards Program on November 2, 2013 in New York City. This year, the nominees for the SUNSHINE Awards Hall of Fame will be inducted in Tobago by the Co-founder of the SUNSHINE Awards Hall of Fame, Dr. Hollis “Chalkdust” Liverpool.

The SUNSHINE Awards Program was founded to recognize and pay tribute to the creators, performers and promoters of art, dance, music, sports and poetry of the various Caribbean countries. Over the years, the program has expanded in depth and breadth with a global view to include countries from Africa, South America and Central America. A special feature of the program is the SUNSHINE Awards Hall of Fame established in 1989. In addition, “The Friend of the Arts” Award is given to individuals who have made substantial contributions and demonstrated a commitment to the various art forms of the aforementioned regions.

The SUNSHINE Awards Program is often described as the Grammys of the Caribbean and was endorsed by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the organization responsible for the Annual Grammy Awards. The United Nations gave its global endorsement in 1998. The SUNSHINE Awards has also received many “Proclamations” from the various levels of the United States Government.

Gil Figaro, the Founder of the SUNSHINE Awards Program said, “One of the core values of the SUNSHINE Awards Program is a strong sense of responsibility to preserve and perpetuate Caribbean heritage and traditions. These values reflect the synergy that exists between the SUNSHINE Awards Organization and the people of Trinidad and Tobago. The SUNSHINE Awards Organization received many invitations to celebrate these milestone events in other Caribbean countries. However, Tobago was chosen in recognition of the many years of good relations the Organization shares with Tobago House of Assembly and the people of Tobago. Additionally, the SUNSHINE Awards Organization has always assisted Trinidad and Tobago with its development of business, tourism and trade endeavors. I am excited to stage this milestone event in the Caribbean and in particular Tobago as I look forward to celebrating our talented exponents of the performing arts”.

Dr. Hollis “Chalkdust” Liverpool, co-Founder of the SUNSHINE Awards Hall of Fame commented, “This year we take the Programme to Tobago as well as New York. Taking the Programme to Tobago is a fascinating and historical step since, as a Caribbean-based event, we have never held it in the sunshine of the beautiful and sunny Caribbean. Taking it to Tobago means that the event will be injected with not only sunshine, but with the warmth of the inhabitants working, strolling, laughing and liming, the spray and continuous noise that accompany the rising and ebbing of the tides, the rhythmic aesthetic that surrounds the air-conditioned atmosphere and the joy that accompanies the colloquial language patterns that can only spring from a happy but historically-conscious people. The Sunshine Awards is therefore breaking new ground; breaking new and more records”.

Dr. Hans Geiser, a member of the SUNSHINE Awards Organization Board and broker of the relationship between the organization and the management of the Magdalena Grand Beach Resort said, “25 Years of SUNSHINE Awards, and to say that I was in it from Day One, and to say that I brought this event to the United Nations years ago, and now finally to Tobago! Many good reasons to feel proud and honored.”

Dr. Harold Robertson, historian and former Consul General of Trinidad and Tobago commented, “The SUNSHINE Awards is the only program of its type currently in existence. The 25th Anniversary, fittingly being celebrated both in the cradle of Caribbean invention, rhythms and cultural diversity and in its traditional home, New York City, is eloquent testimony to its historical and continuing relevance to the development and recognition of indigenous and diaspora artistic, cultural, educational and sporting achievement. I look forward to a successful and memorable 25th Anniversary celebration”.

The SUNSHINE Awards Organization, for 25 years has worked to promote the culture and art forms of the Caribbean, South American, Central American and African people. The SUNSHINE Awards Program has earned the respect and support of nationals of the United States of America as well as those in the aforementioned regions. This diaspora maintains close ties and follow with keen interest all developments with the SUNSHINE Awards Program. These ties are further strengthened by our talented exponents of the various artforms, education and sports.

The 25th Annual SUNSHINE Awards Ball is sponsored in part by Tobago House of Assembly, United Airlines, “the preferred airline of the SUNSHINE Awards”, Magdalena Grand Beach Resort and Radio Tambrin.