NEW JERSEY, USA (12 Sept. 2019) – Fresh from a successful headline performance at a world quadrille festival, the Festival International de Haute Taille et des Quadrille du Monde in Martinique, a well-known folk group that keeps Dominican culture alive in the northeastern United States will take centre stage once more, this time at an elegant fundraising event stage by the preeminent Dominican organisation in the area.
Having dazzled a Martinique and international audience with a spellbinding display of Dominican quadrille at the recent festival, Know Your Culture Dance Troupe will take the very skills that make it such a cultural force to the 7th annual Dominica Cultural Awards Dinner, organised by the Association of Dominicans in the Northeast USA (ADNExUS) to raise funds for the development of their homeland.
Know Your Culture will share the spotlight with one of Dominica’s multi-talented, award-winning cultural treasures, Mickael Ferrol, and Dominican DJ extraordinaire, Bolo.
At the 21 September Gala, which returns to the historic Woman’s Club of Upper Montclair, ADNExUS will honour Dominican cultural historian, writer, songstress, and creative director, Aileen Burton, with its Cultural Icon Award. The Distinguished Citizen Award will be presented to Shanita Scotland who over the years has initiated numerous health and humanitarian missions to Dominica and beyond, while certificates of appreciation will be presented to community members for committed support of the organisation’s objectives to support Dominicans.
“We are pleased that there is still support for the programme after seven years. We are particularly honoured at the high calibre of cultural superstars who have chosen to be associated with us. Their involvement encourages us and gives us a platform to showcase the impact that a small group of dedicated individuals can make on the lives and livelihood of its fellow citizens,” said Sylma Brown, the association’s president.
The evening’s programme will be hosted by the culturally savvy and entertaining Wilma Bellot.
Under the theme Embracing and Celebrating Our Culture, the event will feature an authentic Dominican menu and performances, but the element of the programme that the association’s board is most humbled by is the opportunity to spotlight the projects that they have funded over the last several month, Brown said.
“Our activities enable us to assist our fellowmen, just like in days gone by. Their testimonials are powerful and emotional and evoke a certain amount of nostalgia about the way it used to be: one villager helping another. That is truly Dominica culture at work, and that is what we aspire to achieve,” she concludes.
Tickets are still available and may be secured from any of the board members or by emailing [email protected].
The Association of Dominicans in the Northeast USA achieved 501c3 and 509a2 status in 2014. The Association exists to foster the development and execution of cultural, educational and community programs that connect Dominicans in the Northeast USA with Dominicans at home.
