Kitchrie Festival coming to Forest Park bandshell

The music and culture of Indo Caribbean countries will take center stage in Forest Park on Sunday, August 19 during the Kitchrie Festival.
The event, in its 10th year, will be held from noon until 6 p.m. at the George Seuffert Bandshell, located at off Woodhaven Boulevard between Myrtle Avenue and Park Lane South.
The name of the festival is derived from the traditional kitchrie dish - a simple, spicy bowl of dhal and rice that the father of the bride offers to the groom. According to ritual, when eaten the meal symbolizes the culmination of a marriage.
The festival, run by the Rajkumari Cultural Center in Richmond Hill, showcases art forms brought by East Indians, who worked as indentured servants in countries like Guyana, Suriname in South America and Caribbean islands like Trinidad, Jamaica, Grenada, Martinique and Guadeloupe.
The first Queens Kitchrie Festival was held at Richmond Hill High School in 1998, and during the following years, the event took place at various locations including Lincoln Center and Queens Theatre.
About 1,000 elder custodians, “tradition-bearers,” and various artists have been preparing for this year’s event, which will include singers, musicians, drummers, dancers, actors, playwrights, lighting and set designers, decoration and costume makers.
This year musical legend, Ustad Jameer Hosein, who performs classical tan singing and melodies from Trinidad and Tobago, and Jameer won the Mastana Bahar, a classical singing champion, are both slated to take the bandstand stage.
“From as early as the 1920s, Indians in Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad had extremely close social, political and cultural ties. They held Tadjah, Tassa and Tan Singing competitions between the three countries,” said Kitchrie Founder and Director Pritha Singh. “My grandparents, Dr. Jung Bahadur Singh and Alice Bhagwandai Doobey Singh were hosts and pioneers of these events and interactions.”
For more information about the festival, call the Rajkumari Center at 718-846-5431 or email kitchrie@aol.com.