Events Calendar 2007

2007 GUYANA FOLK FESTIVAL
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
The Guyana Cultural Association is proud to announce preliminary details for the 6th annual Guyana Folk Festival. This year's festival features a film festival, a drama festival, a summer camp, the awards ceremony, the symposium, the popular "Come to my Kwe Kwe," and the Family Fun Day.

What follows are the available details:

· FOLK FESTIVAL FILM & VIDEO FESTIVAL II
THEME:
"MontageGY - Guyana in Film & Video"
see details here

Saturday, July 14, 2007 7.00 p.m.
Sunday, July 15, 2007 6.00 p.m.

Auditorium, Meyer Levin School for the Performing Arts
Ralph Avenue, Brooklyn, New York

WORKSHOP:
In addition to showcasing films by Guyanese filmmakers,
this year's festival will include a workshop for young filmmakers.
The workshop will be held on Saturday, July14, 2007 from 1:00 p.m to 3:00 p.m.

Details will be provided soon.

SCREENINGS:
Screenings of Guyanese films and videos will be on
Saturday, July 14 from 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, July 15 from 6:00 p.m.

Among the films & videos to be featured are:

· "Rainbow Raani" - (Mickey Nivelli);
· To Sir With Love (E.R. Braithwaite)
· Jezebel (Paloma Mohamed),
· The Peaccok Dance (Ian Valz),
· A Celebration of Life - Dances of African Guyanese (Kean Gibson),
· "Mazaruni Journey (Francis Farrier);
· "Ten Years in the Making" - (First Born);
· "Against All Odds" - (Desire Edghill)

ENTRANCE FEES: $10.00 (Children under 15 free)

SHORT FILM /VIDEO MAKING CHALLENGE COMPETITION:
Do you dream of making movies?
Are you a hot shot with a Camcorder, DVD cam or Videophone?
Here's your chance to test how good you are and win prizes too!
Make a short film. Enter it in Montage GY Challenge Contest.
Get your work judged by a panel of accomplished film and video makers!

What are you waiting for?
Lights! Sound! Camera! Action! It's on!

The organizers of the film festival are: Shirvington Hannays, Louis Kilkenny, Paloma Mohammed, Mahadeo Shivraj, Romesh Singh, Patrick Stevens, and Frankie Sukhnanan.

REGISTRATION FEES: $20.00

· PERFORMING ARTS FESTIVAL
AUGUST 4th & 5th, 2007
August 12th and 13th, 2007
Auditorium,
MEYER LEVIN SCHOOL FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
Ralph Avenue, Brooklyn, New York
(Beverly & Tilden)

CURTAINS SHARP:
Saturday - 7.00 p.m.
Sundays - 6.00 p.m.

FREEDOM TRAIL:
In 1763, in the Dutch colony of Berbice, on the Atlantic Coast
of South America, Cuffy, an enslave African, organised the greatest slave revolt of that era, to fight for freedom and to establish an orderly African country outside of Africa.

This is the setting for the play FREEDOM TRAIL, written by prize-winning Guyanese playwright, Francis Quamina Farrier, who also wrote Guyana first ever Radio Soap Operas; The Tides of Susanburg, and The Girl from Susanburg. Directed by veteran actor Maurice Braithwaite, who played the villan Mentore in the Susanburg series, FREEDOM TRAIL will feature some of the most talented actors, dancers and drummers in the tri-state area.

The production team includes: Maurice Braithwaite, Jamella Edoo, and Francis Quamina Farrier.
Fee: $20.00 (Children under 15 free)

· FOLK FESTIVAL CULTURAL SUMMER CAMP
July 16 - August 24, 2007
Mon, Wed & Fri: 10am - 2pm; 1pm - 3 pm
Children ages 7-13

Caribbean Literary and Cultural Center
22 Linden Boulevard Brooklyn, NY 11226

2007 marks the return of the Summer Folk Camp. This camp for children will feature workshops in folk dance, drumming, arts and crafts, drama, and cultural history.

Further details, including registration and fees will be circulated shortly.

The team coordinating this program will include: Maurice Braithwaite and Rose October-Edun. Further details,
including registration and fees will be circulated shortly.

· GCA AWARDS CEREMONY
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 29, 2007
BROOKLYN BOROUGH HALL
Jerolomon Street, Brooklyn, New York

The Guyana Cultural Association of New York 2007 Awards ceremony will take place in Brooklyn, New York on Wednesday, August 29, 2007. Drawing on the bicentennial of the abolition of the trade in African captives (the Atlantic Slave Trad e) and the later political independence of Guyana from Britain in 1966, the Guyana Folk Festival 2007 theme is "Oii" - Origins, Identity, and Influence.

CRITERIA:
The Guyana Cultural Association Awards will recognize the achievements of individuals and entities in cultural development. We plan to acknowledge the contributions by youth, business leaders and organizations.

Accordingly, we invite nominations for our three categories of awards. One each for a youth, aged up to 25 years, a business person and eight persons or organizations in the cultural and creative sector. The deadline for nomination is July 19, 2007. The team coordinating this event include: Ron Lammy & Tangerine Clarke (Co-Chairs) and Kishore Megnauth.

NOMINATION PROCESS:
Please submit nominations by e-mail to Awardsnominations@guyfolkfest.org including the nominee's name, a photograph, contact information, and a summary explaining why the nominee deserves to win the award in a particular category.

Hard copy (paper) nominations can be mailed to Claire Goring at the Guyana Cultural Association, 1368 E.89 Street, Suite 2, Brooklyn, NY 11236.

The team coordinating this program will include: Ron H. Lammy & Tangerine Clarke, Co-Chairs and Kishore Megnauth

· FOLK FESTIVAL SYMPOSIUM
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2007 TEACHERS COLLEGE
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
Theresa Towers, 8th Floor Adam Clayton Blvd., Harlem, NY 10027
This year, 2007, is the bicentennial of the abolition of the trade in African captives. That action has influenced contemporary Guyanese society. The working theme of the symposium will be "Oii" (Origins, Identity, and Influence). The concept was introduced by Ron Lammy during the 2006 symposium. "Oii" is a word that is used in Guyanese dialect to say hello, hey there, how are you doing, stop, let's have a chat----all rolled into one expression.

Oil" - THEME FOR 2007 SYMPOSIUM Using the bicentennial as a starting point, the goal of the symposium will be to reflect on the multiple expressions of "Oii" in all aspects of Guyanese life--the arts, church and religion, commerce and industry, the diaspora, education, science and technology, politics, religion, language, literature, music, history, and interracial relations.

LITERARY HANG

On Friday, August 31, Guyanese poets, playwrights, novelists, and men and women of words will meet for the first annual "Literary Hang." This event will feature readings, book signings, and good conversation.
The event will be held from 3.00 p.m.-6.00 p.m. at the Caribbean Literary and Cultural Center
22 Linden Boulevard
Brooklyn, NY 11226

The members of the planning team are:
Dr. Dawn Arno, Dr. Aubrey Bonnet, Dr. Vibert Cambridge, Dr. Juliet Emanuel, and Dr. Prem Misir.

Coming from the Bronx, New York City -
Take the #4 train to Utica Avenue Stop.. and then B46 Bus to Beverly Road.

From Long Island and Queens -
Take the Belt Parkway to Linden Blvd. At Rockaway Parkway, Make a left and then the first right onto Ditmus. Drive to Ralph and make a right. The School is at the first corner (Beverly)