South Jersey Caribbean Festival rescheduled for September 26 with Rupee headlining
Thunderstorms forced two postponements of the free festival at Wiggins Park on the Camden Waterfront, now in its 26th year.
CAMDEN, United States. The South Jersey Caribbean Festival will take place on Saturday, September 26, after heavy thunderstorms forced its postponement on July 18 and August 22.
Kylla Herbert, president of the South Jersey Caribbean Cultural and Development Organization (SJCCDO), announced the new date on Wednesday, September 9.
The 26th annual festival will run from 2pm to 8pm at Wiggins Park on the Camden Waterfront in Camden, New Jersey.
Rupee to headline
Barbadian-born soca star Rupee will headline, performing hits including "Tempted to Touch", "Jump" and "What Happens in the Party".
"Rupee has been a major presence in Caribbean and international music for more than 25 years," Herbert said. "His signature hit, 'Tempted to Touch,' helped bring Soca music to audiences around the world."
Other performers include Alex Kwabena Colon and the Garifuna collective from Belize, Klymaxx Band from Antigua, Orchestra LA 95 from Puerto Rico, Niger Ali from Jamaica, Monet Esbee from the Bahamas and the Philadelphia Pan Stars Steel Orchestra from Trinidad and Tobago.
Free and open to all
Herbert said the festival is a free, family-friendly celebration of Caribbean culture, music, food, arts and heritage, drawing people from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and beyond.
"One of the things that is most important to us is keeping the South Jersey Caribbean Festival free and accessible to the entire community," she said. "Many families may not have the opportunity to travel to the Caribbean or pay expensive admission prices to attend major cultural events."
She said the festival relies on sponsorship and donations.
The event will include live music, cultural performances, Caribbean food, arts and crafts, vendors and children's activities.
"For one day on the Camden Waterfront, people from many different Caribbean islands, cultures, generations, and communities come together as one Caribbean family," Herbert said. "You may see flags from St. Kitts and Nevis, Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Guyana, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, and many other Caribbean nations and territories."
"The South Jersey Caribbean Festival is more than a music festival. It is a celebration of who we are, where we come from and the cultural traditions we want to preserve for future generations," she said.
