The first annual Caribbean Carnival Art Night, a night of Caribbean culture in all forms of art, will be hosted by the Caribbean Association of Madison at the Black Business Hub on Tuesday, Feb. 17.
“We will have a lot going on that night,” organizer Leslie Busby-Amegashie, the chair of the Caribbean Carnival Committee for the Caribbean Association of Madison, tells Madison365. “February can be a really tough month for people in Wisconsin, especially those who come from warm weather in Caribbean climates. But we’re going to bring a little warm-up excitement. We want people to know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.”
Busby-Amegashie is a longtime member of the Caribbean Association of Madison (CAM) and former president of the non-profit that was formed in 1994 as a forum to “bring together people of Caribbean descent and friends of the Caribbean in Wisconsin and neighboring communities to preserve and disseminate the rich culture, history and heritage of its people.” The organization has often been very low-key over the years, Busby-Amegashie says, hosting family picnics and get-togethers. But the first annual Caribbean Carnival Art Night will be a big event.
“I had called Ruben [Anthony, CEO of the Urban League of Greater Madison], and asked if they were going to have anything going on at the Black Business Hub for Fat Tuesday,” Busby-Amegashie remembers. “When he told me, ‘no,’ I said, ‘Hey, I have something for you!'”
Trinidad and Tobago Carnival is an annual event, known for participants’ colorful costumes and exuberant celebrations, held on the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday in Trinidad and Tobago. Busby-Amegashie and the Caribbean Association of Madison had been brainstorming a big party like Caribbean Carnival Art Night for a little while now.
On Feb. 17, community members will have a chance to see live music and dancing, with a parade of carnival costumes, to the sound of the Panchromatic Steel Band. Food and drinks will be available from vendors at the event, including restaurants from the first floor of the Black Business Hub, such as House of Flava, Devine Grilling, The Walking Jerk, Tailer Nicole, and Rasta Barista.
Local artist Mary Gill will construct a Caribbean art creation; Chad Bartell, of the Panchromatic Steel Band, will have a steel pan performance. There will be music and dancing and a Show of Carnival Costumes.
“We’re going to have some guys playing the steel pan, which originated from Trinidad and Tobago. Then we’re going to have a young lady singing the Calypso, which are songs that are made up for Carnival in Trinidad,” Busby-Amegashie says. “We’ll demonstrate the different types of costumes that have been worn through the years.”
Busby-Amegashi, who is the author of a Caribbean cookbook, is originally from Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies 6.8 miles off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. Busby-Amegashi returns to her homeland every other year. This year, due to the American military invasion of Venezuela and the current instability of the country, she says she is staying put here in Wisconsin. “It’s not very safe down there right now,” she says. “So that’s why I thought, ‘If I’m not going to be able to make it down to Carnival, I’m going to bring it here!”
At the Caribbean Carnival Art Night, Guy Thorne, Arts Residency Programs Coordinator at UW-Madison, will serve as the emcee and will also perform at the event. Other activities will include an art/craft activity where participants will create a collage of a Carnival scene using multimedia art supplies on canvases.
“Caribbean Carnival Art Night is a chance to have a lot of fun and have some delicious food while being around a lot of great people,” Busby-Amegashi says.
Attendees of Caribbean Carnival Art Night are encouraged to dress in bright colors. For tickets to Caribbean Carnival Art Night, click here.
