ORANGE, NJ — After two years of virtual celebrations, the city of Orange will relaunch its celebration of the Caribbean with the Caribbean Heritage Day Festival on Saturday, Aug. 13. The free family celebration featuring food, music and culture kicks off at noon in Monte Irvin Orange Park, in the area of South Center and South Harrison streets.
This year’s event will include special guest performances, including Pan Evolution steel pan band; moko jumbies, aka stilt walkers; African Caribbean dance; singer-songwriter Adrian Dutchin, from Guyana; disc jockey Mega Banton, from Jamaica; soca songwriter Denise “Saucy Wow” Belfon, from Trinidad; and other guest artists. Returning to the stage will be master of ceremonies Bevan Romano and stage DJs from The Red Team.
“After several calls and requests to my office asking when the festival would return, we are happy to finally tell everyone we are back,” Orange Mayor Dwayne D. Warren said. “Over the past two years, we celebrated the Caribbean culture virtually by showing highlights of previous celebrations and highlighting neighboring Caribbean restaurants. We knew the importance of staying connected with people, reminding them that even through COVID-19, we would continue this longstanding tradition of celebrating their culture and heritage. My administration is excited to get back to face to face, person to person, because that is part of the culture, ‘liming’ with family and friends.”
For more information, contact Campanella Godfrey at 973-952-6116 or Nikki Amos at 973-960-5134. Vendor space and sponsorship opportunities are available.