The nation of Barbados turns 42 this month, and the Council of Barbadian Organizations, New York, will be celebrating the anniversary.
The group’s commemoration begins on Saturday, November 8 in Brooklyn, with the Barbados Independence Festival of Creative Arts, an event featuring live performances and an arts and crafts marketplace. The festival will be held at Intermediate School 61, 400 Empire Boulevard at New York Avenue, from 3:30 to 9 p.m. Admission is $20 for adults and $10 for children ages 12 and under. Performances start at 6 p.m.
The big event of the month will be the formal Barbados 42nd anniversary of Independence Gala on Friday, November 28 in Queens, at Antun’s Caterers, 96-43 Springfield Boulevard in Queens Village, from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Outstanding Barbadians will be recognized at the black-tie affair, which will be attended by Lennox Price, Barbados’ consul general in New York. Tickets are $100 per person and must be purchased by Friday, November 21.
For gala reservations and information about independence anniversary events, call Carrie Franklyn at 718-209-0564 or Marston Gibson at 516-680-8506.
The art scene returns
The International Caribbean Art Fair, which will highlight works from more than 40 Caribbean artists and fine art galleries both in and outside the Caribbean islands, returns to New York this week, with activities and art works for veteran collectors and novice patrons.
The three-day event, which will be held at Waterfront, 222 12th Avenue between 27th and 28th Streets in Manhattan, begins Thursday, November 6 with a preview night and collectors reception. After the opening night, art fair hours are Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m.
For more on the International Caribbean Art Fair, visit their Web site: www.icafair.com or call 877-319-6478.
A launch with ‘Oxygen’
The famous kompa band Phantoms will star in an album launch party for its latest work, “Oxygen,” from 7 p.m. to midnight Sunday at the Rasputin nightclub, 2670 Coney Island Avenue, in Brooklyn.
A part of the event’s proceeds will benefit the Housing Works organization’s Women’s Health Center and its efforts to help HIV-positive women. Admission is $25 in advance. Call 646-326-6020 or 516-322-8200.
A Sean Paul show
Grammy Award-winning performer Sean Paul, one of dance hall music’s hottest attractions, is coming to Lehman Center for the Performing Arts, 250 Bedford Park Boulevard West in the Bronx on Saturday, November 8. Tickets range from $55 to $90. Call the Lehman Center box office at 718-960-8833, or visit www.LehmanCenter.org to buy tickets online.
A poet’s words
Grenadian novelist and poet Merle Collins will headline the next session of the free Women Writers of the Diaspora series at The New School, 66 West 12th Street in Manhattan, on Friday, November 7 at 6:30 p.m. The event will be held in the school’s Malcolm Klein Reading Room in the Alvin Johnson/J.M. Kaplan Hall, room 510. Call 212-229-5615 for information.
Global thoughts on business
Governor David Paterson will join a host of international and local leaders this week at the 13th Caribbean Multi-National Business Conference, sponsored by New York Carib News newspaper.
This year’s annual gathering - in which high-ranking business professionals and corporate executives network with Caribbean heads of state, diplomats and government decision-makers - will be held on St. Maarten.
The conference runs from Thursday, November 6 to Sunday, November 9, and includes sessions on health, international travel and tourism, education and a timely session entitled, “The Caribbean, Its Value and Potential in Times of Crisis.” Visit www.caribnewsconference.com online, call 212-944-1991, or send e-mail to info@ caribnewsconference.com for information.
‘Love’ comes to town
“Love Games,” the popular Jamaican play starring Glen (Titus) Campbell, comes to New York this week for performances Friday at Truman High School in the Bronx; at York College in Queens on Saturday, November 8 and at Wingate High School in Brooklyn on Sunday, November 9. Tickets are $40 in advance. Call Everybody’s magazine at 718-941-1879 for ticket locations and information.
Help for Haiti in Queens
City Councilmember Leroy Comrie is supporting the hurricane relief effort in Haiti by accepting donations of supplies at his district office, located at 113-43 Farmers Boulevard in St. Albans. Needed supplies range from cases of bottled water to children’s underwear. For a full list of recommended donations and more information, call 718-776-3700. Office hours are Mondays through Fridays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
This column is reprinted from the October 26 Sunday editions of The New York Daily News. If you have items suitable for this column please e-mail them to jmccallister@nydailynews.com.
