by Lorna Wright
At a kickoff reception hosted by the City of Lauderdale Lakes and The Greater Caribbean-American Chamber of Commerce, guests experienced a taste of activities to come for Unifest 2005 to be held Sunday, June 5, 2005 at the Vincent Torres Park.
Unifest 2005 promises a mixture of pleasure, business, social responsibility and health awareness. Billed as the “Festival of Cultures,” it is an event for the entire family and is supported by a wide cross-section of the community, and also includes a health fair where free health screenings will be offered. On another serious note, the NAACP Youth Council will be registering voters and members of the Caribbean Bar Association will be on hand to conduct a citizenship drive. The business expo will provide valuable information and opportunity to network.
Breaking news at the reception was that Freddie MacGregor has been added to the exciting entertainment lineup featuring Caribbean, American, African and Latin performers, including soca king Byron Lee & the Dragonnaires, the Mighty Vikings from Jamaica, Latin Paola Fernandez, Haitian band X-Cape, the Panamanian-American Association of Florida which will present a ballet folklore dance, stick-walking by 20-year old Racine Bonelli who has been performing at Unifest since she was 9 years old.
According to Andrew Azebeokhai, Chair for Unifest 2005, the children will have fun rides and games, and other sports activities include the Domino Tournament for the enthusiasts and Netball, a precursor to the upcoming World Youth Netball Championships to be held in July.
To highlight the evening at the reception, a proclamation was presented by Vice Mayor of Lauderdale Lakes, Barrington Russell and accepted on behalf of Unifest 2005 by Commissioner Hazelle Rogers and Tanya Ragbeer, President of GCACC.
