The Consulate General of Jamaica in New York will stage a series of events celebrating National Heritage Week, being observed in Jamaica from Sunday, October 12 through Monday, October 20, 2008. 

The series, Heritage Fest 2008, will include two events, an arts and ‘edu-cultural’ presentation on Thursday, October 16, starting at 6:00pm at the Consulate General, 767 Third Avenue, Manhattan, and a flag-raising ceremony on Monday, October 20, at 12:30 – 1:30 pm., at the Bowling Green Plaza (Broadway & Beaver Streets), at the Financial District in lower Manhattan.  

The symbolic flag-raising ceremony will climax the celebration of Jamaica’s rich history and culture, through the words and deed of the island nation’s seven national heroes and heroine. 
Jamaicans at home and overseas will observe Monday, October 20, 2008 as National Heroes Day, a public holiday, when the country will pause for a moment to honour more than one hundred nationals who have made significant contribution to nation building during the National Honours and Awards Ceremony, at King’s House, Kingston. 

This year’s list of honourees will include two persons from the Northeast USA, who will receive the Order of Distinction (OD). They are; Rev. Dr. Horace Russell of Philadelphia, an outstanding Baptist Minister, historian an former president of the Jamaica Baptist Union and the late Amir Mohammed Abdul-Akbar, founder/executive director of the Caribbean American Program for Empowerment (CAPE), a non-governmental, multi-faceted organization. 

Heritage Fest 2008 will open at the Consulate on Thursday, October 16 at 6:00 pm., “with a programme of spoken words and performances celebrating our heritage and involving our youth”, noted Consul General Geneive Brown Metzger, patron of the celebrations. 

Thursday’s opening event will profile the seven national heroes with readings by student leaders and a presentation by Dr. Basil Wilson, former provost at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, NY. Heritage-themed entertainment will also be offered. 

The series is being presented in collaboration with the Union of Jamaica Alumni Associations (UJAA) and the Jamaica Diaspora Advisory Board/NE USA. 

Contact: 
Aubrey L. Campbell, JIS/NY
T: 212-935-7506