The Jamaica Cultural Alliance (JCA) will hold its 16th Annual “Tea Party” and Fundraiser on Sunday, July 13th at 2:00 pm at the Ayers Hotel Manhattan Beach, 14400 Hindry Avenue, Hawthorne. The tea will be a celebration of the cultural contributions of the late Honorable Louise Bennett-Coverley who was born on September 7, 1919. She was a Jamaican poet and activist who, years after her death, remains a household name in Jamaica and for Jamaicans throughout the world.  Through her poems in Jamaican patois, she raised the dialect of the Jamaican folk to an art level that is acceptable to and appreciated by all.

The highlight of this year’s tea party will be the rendering of Jamaican folk songs in their purest forms by the Harmony Projects’ “Leimert Park Children’s Choir.  Harmony Project is Los Angeles’ largest 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization solely dedicated to music education for youth in low-income communities. They have been recognized as one of the most effective arts-based youth interventions in the nation.  Their involvement in the learning and performing of Jamaican folk music and their participation in this tea party are in keeping with the cultural exchange and exposure to different cultural experiences that are integral to the mission of the JCA organization.

The Jamaica Cultural Alliance is a Los Angeles public affairs organization dedicated to expanding and enriching knowledge and awareness of Jamaican and all Caribbean culture and heritage among West Coast residents.  The event is sponsored by the Jamaica Tourist Board and the Blazers Safe Haven. Funds raised will support JCA cultural and art exchange programs.