World of music in Queens
Flushing Town Hall Common Ground series starts Sunday
ICity-basednternationally acclaimed Haitian singer Emeline Michel and Israeli-born, New York guitarist Dan Nadel join forces in Queens on Sunday at 1 p.m. to kick off Flushing Town Hall’s “Common Ground: Mini-Global Mashups” series — featuring musicians of different cultures performing together.
Flushing Town Hall, at 137-35 Northern Blvd., will host the “Common Ground” series’ debut with individual performances by Michel and Nadel and a collaboration, with the accompaniment of Japan-born jazz pianist and composer Yayoi Ikawa.
The series of international entertainment runs monthly through December.
Known for her melding of traditional Haitian “compas” and “rara” music with jazz, blues and popular sounds, Michel has grown from singing in a gospel choir in Gonaïves, Haiti, to holding shows on several continents — “from the stages of Montreal and Milan to Tasmania to Zimbabwe,” according a Flushing Town Hall spokeswoman.
Nadel is famous for playing guitar laced with tasteful jazz, flamenco and Middle Eastern influences. Each performance in the series will include a question-and-answer session.
Adhering to the city’s COVID-19 policy for performance venues, “all visitors, performers, and staff to show proof of vaccination with matching identification. And masks will be required at all times.”
In-person tickets are $15 per person and $12 for members. Virtual tickets are $7 and $5 for members. For tickets and information on upcoming shows, visit flushingtownhall.org or call (718) 463-7700, extension 222.
Anguilla reopens
Vacationers will have easier — and safer — access to Anguilla’s sought-after white sand beaches, restaurants and world renowned accommodations after the British overseas territory recently lifted all quarantine requirements for international leisure visitors staying at hotels or villas.
Persistence and strict adherence to science have paid off for the island of Anguilla, its residents and visitors. Under new rules, visitors to Anguilla staying at a hotel, resort or a licensed villa, for any length of stay, will be tested for COVID-19 upon arrival and must then stay in place at their accommodation until the test results are received. Test results are usually available within 12 hours.
Once visitors receive a negative test result, they are free to leave the vacation property and explore the island’s many attractions. The required four-day quarantine is gone, but all visitors will be tested on the fourth day of their stay.
As of Oct. 1, a $200 fee will be charged, which pays for the arrival test and fourth day test. For Americans coming home from Anguilla, the U.S. requires a negative COVID test result taken three days before arrival in the states But “if you are in Anguilla for a week, the Day 4 test can be used for your return travel, so you don’t have to pay for an additional test,” the spokeswoman noted.
Only fully vaccinated adult travelers are allowed entry to Anguilla. And only children aged 17 years and younger and pregnant women are exempt from the requirement.
While on the island, guests must adhere to the COVID-19 protocols of business and establishments: wearing a face-covering in indoor public spaces, maintaining social distancing of at least 3 feet in indoor settings, and observing proper hygiene with frequent hand washing or using hand sanitizer.
International travelers can get applications for Entry Permission, details on Anguilla’s entry requirements, and more information about the island at escape.ivisitanguilla.com.
Applications will not be accepted later than noon the day before the day of arrival. For help with the travel application, call (264) 497-5666 or (264) 584-2710, between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. Or send email to visitanguilla@gov.ai, and allow up to 12 hours for a reply.
Progressive League’s birthday
Members of the Jamaica Progressive League will be enthusiastically celebrating their organization’s 85th anniversary with a luncheon on Sept. 18 in the Bronx — and the announcement of the forward-focused Hopeful Village project.
The luncheon — at Eastwood Manor Caterers, 3371 Eastchester Road, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. — will feature the presentation of awards to honorees and the announcement of Hopeful Village — a novel, culturally based not- for-profit, focusing on the area’s of education, physical and mental health, politics and law, communication, and economics.
“The members of the Jamaica Progressive League, are of the opinion that the reason why our population is in such dire straits is that the cultural component is lacking in these areas,” said league president Sadie Campbell of the multi-faceted Hopeful Village effort.
“We are hoping to engage those among us who are proficient in those areas to join us in a solutions oriented effort.”
“As you are aware, historically, the League is known for its progressive leadership and has led the way in immigration matters in the U.S., as well as political prowess in the Caribbean, ‘‘ said Campbell. “For this we give credit to our forebears, but we have rested on our laurels for far too long, and it’s time to bust another move forward.”
In addition to the Hopeful Village announcement and an update on league accomplishments, the luncheon will feature the recognition of a group of honorees — including Gloria Austin, Jamaica’s first female firefighter who also represented Jamaica Labour Party at the historic 1963 March on Washington; community activist Al De Castro; Hugh Campbell, “The People’s Attorney;” Mt. Vernon City Council Member Delia Farquharson; and Byron La Beach, the sprinter who represented Jamaica at 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki, Finland.
For information, call (718) 994-5496 or send email to ethelredbrown@aol.com.
The Jamaica Progressive League — New York was founded in 1936 by Jamaican immigrants, prior to independence from the United Kingdom.
Bishop Sansaricq’s funeral
The late Haiti-born Bishop Guy Sansaricq of the Diocese of Brooklyn — the first Haitian American Catholic bishop in the U.S. — was remembered in a funeral Mass Sept. 2 at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.
St. Gregory the Great Church in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and other Catholic churches held vigils for Bishop Sansaricq, who died Aug. 21 at the age of 86.
“He was a symbol of the progress of the Haitian people here and, as someone who served as a bishop, gave the Haitian community some recognition and stature as immigrant people, a ministry he served very well,” Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn told the Catholic News Agency after the bishop’s death.
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