New York (Top40 Charts/ Delaware River Waterfront Corporation) - All aboard now, it's Caribbean Festival celebration time at the Great Plaza, Penn's Landing where 14 Caribbean islands will treat you to wholesome family fun. You can enjoy this FREE festival of Caribbean culture, music, and food on Sunday, August 23, 2009 from 2:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m., located at Columbus Boulevard at Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. The celebration is one of the many festivals in the PECO Multicultural Series and part of the 2009 summer season at Penn's Landing, presented by the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation.
This year's festival will be hosted by The St. Vincent & The Grenadines Tourist Board and themed St. Vincent & The Grenadines Day featuring St. Vincent's own artist, Edison "Lively" McDowall, as the headline performer. Lively is from Lowmans Windward, St. Vincent & The Grenadines. In his early years, Lively was very active in his church where he had the opportunity to perform at Christmas concerts, Harvest and Easter Recitals. Lively's love for music, the Soca beat, and singing later developed after he migrated to the United States. Lively has been a successful recording artist performing such hits as "Big Ting," "We Drinking," "Old Battle," and this year's "Mash-Up." Lively believes that the influence by well-known Vincentian artists like Winston Soso and Alston "Becket" Cyrus whom he considers musical role models contributed to his drive to become a professional musical artist. Lively continues to write and sing songs that express positive vibrations and he hopes that his music will liberate, educate, put a smile on everyone's face, and keep everyone - Lively!
The main stage musical entertainment line-up will also feature another noted Vincentian, Curtis "C" performing "Behind the Bumper," "Vincy In A We," and "Show Me You Motion." Performers on the schedule also include SVG's crowd-pleaser, the Afri-Garifuna Ensemble, who will perform traditional Paranda, Punta, and Hungu-Hungu; SVGOP's Youth Group's folklore medley featuring SVG's "I Am"; back by popular demand is Washington DC's Image Band; the Dubsmith HiFi featuring Dub Reggae Electronica; and many more artists. This year's event will also feature the award-winning steel drum band, Philadelphia Pan Stars, along with a Caribbean culture booth - Tings Caribbean - where one can feel, touch and sample "Tings" from the islands. A Caribbean Children's Village - "Pickney Kannah" - will also be featured at the festival. A section of the festival area will also be sectioned off for a DJ dance party run by The Music Master and his Crew and Radio West Indies, an internet media, featuring a variety of international music. The Festival will also feature the current 2009 Philadelphia Miss Caribbean who hails from island of St. Vincent & The Grenadines and who is also a Caribbean Festival Scholarship recipient.
In addition to great talent on the main stage, visitors will be able to sample some great Caribbean Cuisine including: Jamaican jerk chicken, rice and peas, curried goat and chicken, codfish cakes, escovitched fish and festival bakes, Trinidadian Roti, rotisserie roasted corn, coconut water, sweet sugar cane, and other delicious foods and refreshing island beverages. To learn more about the Caribbean Festival Committee, please visit their website at: www.phillycaribbeanfestival.com.
Admission is FREE for all PECO Multicultural Series events. PECO presents a series of free Multicultural festivals throughout the summer season at the Great Plaza at Penn's Landing.
Based in Philadelphia, PECO is an electric and natural gas utility subsidiary of Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC). PECO serves 1.6 million electric and 4,850,000 natural gas customers in southeastern Pennsylvania and employs 2,400 people in the region. PECO delivers 83.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas and 39.4 billion Kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2008.
Founded in 1881, PECO is one of the Greater Philadelphia Region's most active corporate citizens, providing leadership, volunteer and financial support to numerous arts and culture, education, environmental, economic development and community programs and organizations.
The 2009 Summer Program of Free Events at Penn's Landing is funded and produced by the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation (DRWC). All events produced by DRWC are FREE to the public on the Great Plaza, the heart of Penn's Landing, Philadelphia's premier Delaware riverfront entertainment destination.
Public Programming at Penn's Landing would not be possible without the continued support of PECO, Bank of America, Pennsylvania Lottery, the Philadelphia Coca-Cola Bottling Company, and the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, all of whom are committed to serving the Greater Philadelphia community.
For more information on event locations and event details, please call (215) 922-2FUN or visit www.pennslandingcorp.com. This website is a virtual resource for the waterfront where visitors can plan to park, play and stay all day at Penn's Landing.
