38th Annual Caribbean Festival
(All*ah*We*ah*One)
Part of PECO’s Multicultural Series
Sunday, August 18, 2024
DRWC’s Cherry Street Pier, Philadelphia
12:00 Noon – 8:00 P.M.
On August 25, 1991, the Caribbean Festival & Cultural Committee (“CF&CC”) presented the 5th Annual Caribbean Festival at the Great Plaza, Penn’s Landing, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Attendance for that day exceeded 50,000. It turned out as one of the most successful events to take place at Penn’s Landing for the year. Since the Festival’s inception, the Committee has focused on exposing the greater Delaware Valley to the beauty and culture of the various islands and creating an awareness of the great contributions people of the Caribbean have made, and are still making to the world, the Philadelphia and surrounding communities CF&CC is a central part of the Social and Cultural Committee of the Caribbean Festival & Cultural Organization of PA (formerly the Caribbean/American Association of Pennsylvania, Inc. (“CAP”)), a non-stock corporation, incorporated in the State of Pennsylvania with a 501(c)3 status, as permitted by law.
The success of the festival resulted from the efforts and tenacity of the formed “Caribbean Festival & Cultural Committee.” CF&CC, which formally comprised of representatives from participating islands of Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, and Trinidad & Tobago, was later joined by St. Kitts, Dominica and Grenada in 1992. In 1993, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands came aboard. Additionally, we now have Guyana, Panama, Bahamas and St. Lucia aboard, for an aggregate of fourteen (14) islands. Honorable citations were presented in 1991 and 1992 to the Committee, from the late State Representative David P. Richardson, in recognition of CF&CC’s hard work and achievement, and also commendations and notations from Mayor, John F. Street, State Representative John White, State Senator Hardy Williams, Jr. and from the Honorable Edward G. Rendell, former Mayor of the City of Philadelphia and past Governor of Pennsylvania, Councilwoman, Jannie Blackwell-City Council, and from the Honorable James F. Kenney, Philadelphia’s formert Mayor for CF&CC’s contributions to cultural awareness in Philadelphia.
Proceeds obtained from the annual events are used for charitable undertakings, such as awarding scholarships to Caribbean and Caribbean/American students, attending two-year or four-year colleges; aid to fund-raising hurricane victims; burnt out victims, and bereavement support in the Caribbean/American community. The proceeds are derived from the sale of raffle tickets, t/shirts, Souvenirs, and the sale of vending spaces. To date, CF&CC has awarded hundreds of scholarships to Caribbean and Caribbean/American students, namely, from Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Bahamas, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Thomas, UVI, Puerto Rico, St. Maarten (Netherlands, Antilles), St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago, Nevis (St. Kitts) and Tortola, BVI.
The festival continues to be a family-oriented event, is always free to the public, and all members of the Festival Committee are unpaid volunteers. For additional information, please call (215) 879-9352; Fax: (215) 879-7948; Capfest@gmail.com; www.phillycaribbeanfestival2024.com