Credit: Photo by K. Ciappa for GPTMC

The Great Plaza at Penn’s Landing, Columbus Boulevard and Chestnut Street, will transform into a celebration of Jamaica’s and the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago’s 50th Anniversary of Independence, on Sunday, August 19, 2012 from Noon to 8 p.m. at the 26th Annual Caribbean Festival, with food, music, dancing and crafts. The free festival is part of the 2012 PECO Multicultural Series at Penn’s Landing.

In celebration of the 50th Independence of these two Caribbean Islands, the 26th Annual Caribbean Festival will feature Mafalda and Company with a toe-tapping, hand-clapping and head nodding drumming performance, as well as a performance by the Kuumba Dancers. Kenny Sykes, will perform a Caribbean rendition of the national anthem. Also, the all-inclusive entertainment line-up will feature gospel, spoken word and dancing including Spoken word artist David Watkis, gospel artist Ted Robinson, and Jazz and R&B band, Soul on Demand. Stage entertainment will also include the Soca sounds of Cocoa Scorpion, Mista David, and Hefla Nyah. Reggae bands: Innasence Band, Limelite and Image Band will perform throughout the day.

There will be an array of tempting island cuisine for visitors to enjoy from Vendors. The Caribbean fare will include escovitched fish and festival cakes, codfish fritters, Jamaican jerk-chicken and hard-dough bread, curried goat, and Griot, West African kabob, Trinidadian Roti; Rotisserie Roasted Corn. Local beverages like Caribbean Kola Champagne, Sorrell, Caribbean Ade, Carrot juice and Mauby drink; Fruit, such as mango, water coconut, sugar cane, guinnep will also be available.

This year’s event will also feature the steel drum band, Pan Stars along with a Caribbean Culture booth – Tings Caribbean – featuring information sessions on such topics about the various islands; religion, and fashion. A Caribbean Children’s Village with story-telling, face-painting and such delights is also part of the Festival’s attraction.

The Caribbean Festival Committee, now in its 26th year, works to publicize the importance of the Islands and the culture and the contributions of the Caribbean community to the Philadelphia region and to raise scholarship funds for college students of Caribbean descent.

Admission is FREE for all PECO Multicultural Series events and KYW Newsradio and NBC 10 are proud media partners for this series.