By Naeisha Rose
The South Hollis branch of Queens Library will be celebrating the diversity of the borough by hosting it’s second annual Multicultural Festival June 24 at 1 p.m.
The festivity, held at 204-01 Hollis Ave., includes participants from the STACKS after school program.
“With the multicultural festival we are doing India, Egypt and 1980s to 90s USA hip-hop,” said Sotalia Black, the STACKS leader for South Hollis Library.
The students will interact with the library staff as guests will “talk about the land, the food and the culture,” Black said.
During the after school program, the children learned about a variety of topics, including Bollywood music, Egyptian Gods, henna tattoos, Indian jewelry, and songs from the edgy R&B group Bell Biv Devoe, which is a spin off from the Pop and R&B boy band New Edition.
Both BBD and New Edition were featured in a popular three-part television biopic on the cable channel BET in January.
The groups will perform Bollywood and hip-hop dances during the event and present their knowledge of the different countries, according to Black.
“The room will be decorated with end of the year projects that they did,” Black said. “It’s like a mini-graduation for the STACKS kids.”
The projects included depictions of pyramids, the origination of henna tattoos, and facts about hip-hop music.
At the end of the event there will be a potluck that includes food from their culture, according to Black said.
There will be several dining options, including traditional Haitian, Italian and Spanish food for guests to enjoy.
The STACKS after school program will start up again for the next school year in September.
Reach reporter Naeisha Rose by e-mail at nrose
