a841: Makandal Event (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Lois E Wilcken <makandal-ny@juno.com>

Important!  Please forward to your address book.

PRESS RELEASE

La Troupe Makandal invites you to a very special banbòch (gala) to
celebrate the birthday of our Artistic Director, Master Drummer Frisner
Augustin.  This evening of fun, food, and pure roots pleasure–dynamic
drumming and dance–will take place on Saturday, the 9th of March at 8 pm
at the South Oxford Space in the heart of Brooklyn's development zone for
the arts.  The occasion is also a fundraiser for La Troupe Makandal, with
special attention to its Krik! Krak! program of drum and dance for
children and youth.

La Troupe Makandal piloted Krik! Krak! in 1998 in East Flatbush.  We have
since expanded to sites in Flatbush and Park Slope.  Our party on March 9
will include performances by the Tonel Lakay Dance Theatre, whose members
are Krik! Krak! students; Ti Ayiti from Rockland County; members of La
Troupe Makandal; and, of course, Master Drummer Augustin.  In 1999
Maestro Augustin received the National Heritage Award from the National
Endowment for the Arts, this nation's highest honor in the traditional
arts.  He has also received a Peoples Hall of Fame Award from City Lore
and a Certificate of Achievement from the National Coalition for Haitian
Rights.  Filmmaker Jonathan Demme called him "the Arnold Schwarzenegger
of transcendental drumming."  His music appears on recordings and on the
soundtrack of Mr. Demme's Beloved.

We ask for a minimum donation of $25 (Haitian dinner included) and
encourage all who are able to contribute more.  Contributions to La
Troupe Makandal are tax-deductible.  If you cannot attend the gala,
please consider mailing a contribution to La Troupe Makandal at 621
Rutland Road #4C, Brooklyn NY 11203.

For information and/or reservations, please contact the Troupe at
718-953-6638, or makandal-ny@juno.com.


Lois Wilcken, Ph.D.
La Troupe Makandal - The Center for Haitian Drum and Dance in New York
621 Rutland Road, Brooklyn NY 11203
718-953-6638 / makandal-ny@juno.com
www.makandal.org