The now-signature Bikini Under the Bridge Swimwear and Active Wear show returns next month with a dual purpose — to display a new array of hot fashions and raise funds to combat breast cancer.
An ethnic array of models will sashay along runways at JRG Entertainment’s anticipated show on July 9 at the 26 Bridge event space, 26 Bridge St., in DUMBO, Brooklyn.
This year, in addition to displaying apparel, Bikini Under the Bridge will honor the life and contributions of Karen Pompey Giddings, the late wife of Guyana-born J.R. Giddings, the producer of the event and head of JRG Entertainment.
Sending a cancer awareness message from the start, VIP guests will make a “pink” carpet walk to enter the venue at 6 p.m. The show starts at 7:45 p.m. An after-party starts at 9 p.m.
Pompey Giddings, a key contributor to the annual show, died of breast cancer last year, and a portion of the event’s proceeds will be donated to the Anne Moore Breast Cancer Research Fund at Weill Cornell Breast Center in Manhattan, where she was treated. The center is part of New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell.
With his late wife in mind, Giddings said “KP’s Passion” swimwear line will be highlighted at this year’s show, in addition to special suits for breast cancer survivors, women with scars from surgeries — or ladies “who prefer to show less, but be sexy at the same time.”
With a glimpse of the glam and a peek at the purpose of the annual fashion show, a kickoff event for Bikini Under the Bridge was held at Suede Lounge in Brooklyn on June 1.
Get tickets for the July show at www.bit.ly/butb2017 and send email to jrgbikini@gmail.com for information.
HONORING JUNETEENTH — AND HEROES
The third annual Juneteenth Celebration — featuring a free concert and an awards ceremony commemorating the holiday — will be held Monday in Manhattan at Riverside Church, 490 Riverside Drive, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
To RSVP for the event, visit www.juneteenth2017.splashthat.com.
Music from the African-American sacred tradition will be performed by jazz pianist Cyrus Chestnut and trombonist Wycliffe Gordon; soprano Brandie Sutton; pianist, arranger, composer and musical director, Joseph Joubert; and The Ebony Ecumenical Ensemble and the Juneteenth Jubilee Singers, featuring singers from choirs around the city.
A highlight of the affair will be the “Spirit Alive” awards ceremony, recognizing honorees as “champions of justice for oppressors and the oppressed.”
This year’s awardees include the lead organizers of the of the 2017 Women’s March in Washington D.C. — Tamika Mallory, Linda Sarsour, Bob Bland and Janaye Ingram; the late criminal justice reform leader Kalief Browder; and Johnnetta Cole, director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art and former president of Spelman College.
“We work every year to keep the legacy of Juneteenth alive and make sure that generations to come will honor our country’s history and keep the work of our ancestors alive — for a smarter, stronger and more peaceful nation,” said Rev. James Forbes the senior minister emeritus of the Riverside Church. “All racial, ethnic, religious and economic backgrounds are welcome. Join us to celebrate those who capably labor for our justice today,” he said.
The concert and awards event — which will be followed by a reception — are being hosted in collaboration with the Union Theological Seminary, Auburn Theological Seminary, New York Theological Seminary, Drum Major Institute, Healing of the Nations Foundation, and The Ebony Ecumenical Ensemble, Inc.
Juneteenth, a holiday that commemorates the June 19, 1865 announcement of the abolition of slavery in Texas, has grown to also mark the emancipation of African-American slaves throughout the Confederate South.
STRIKING ‘SOCA GOLD’ WITH NEW ALBUM
With preorders available and an album launch party held last week, the official release of VP Records’ music-packed 2017 Soca Gold compilation of Caribbean carnival hits is almost here.
Entertainers Bunji Garlin and Fay-Ann Lyons were featured at last Wednesday’s Manhattan release party for the Soca Gold album, which will be released Friday.
Garlin and Lyons are contributors to the 17-track collection of 2017 Caribbean carnival hits, which also comes with a bonus DVD of exclusive Trinidad Carnival footage, live performances and music videos.
In addition to Garlin’s “Road Bunx,” featuring Stadic, and “Hold On Something” by Lyons, the Soca Gold album has tunes by carinval music makers Iwer George; Uncle Ellis; Teddyson John, featuring the Roy Cape All Stars; Ricky T, featuring Emepey Slicker; Destra Garcia; Marvay; Omardath Maharaj, featuring Raymond Ramnarine; Peter Ram; Mr. Dale; Rupee and Ricardo Drue; Tizzy; Hypasounds; Rikki Jai; Omardath Maharaj, featuring Raymond Ramnarine; and Gryner. Visit www.vprecords.com or www.vprecords.com/soca-gold-2017-pre-orders-available-now to preorder Soca Gold before Friday.
FREE BIZ EXPO WORKSHOPS
The International & Multicultural Business, Homebuyers and Health Expo 2017 — an event of free workshops, exhibits and networking — comes to the Sheraton Brooklyn New York Hotel, 228 Duffield St., downtown Brooklyn, Thursday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. A networking luncheon with former Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein is one of the highlights of the daylong expo, presented by the New American Chamber of Commerce and the Coalition of Chambers.
There are nominal fees for the luncheon and the VIP breakfast ($29.95 each for non-members), but there is no charge for general admission to business event and its many workshops.
Promoted as the expo for new and small start-up businesses, professionals, hone and health representatives and executives, the expo features free sessions, including “Doing Business with the Federal Government,” “Small Business Matchmaking,” “How to Do Business with the United Nations: A Seminar for U.S. Companies,” “First-Time Home Buyers: Be Equity Smart!,” “Commercial Real Estate Financing Solutions for Multifamily, Mixed Use, Office, and Retail Properties,” “Florida is Back!” and “Poconos is Back!” workshops and the “Publishing, Writing and Surviving in the Contemporary Market,” presented by journalist, author and educator Charles Salzberg.
To register for the expo or participate on the breakfast or luncheon, visit www.businessexponyc.com or call (718) 722-9217.
CITIZENSHIP HOTLINE COMING
Tomorrow, it’s on! — The free, confidential citizenship and immigration information Citizenship NOW! Hotline returns tomorrow, providing volunteers answering calls and questions, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., through June 23.
According to event sponsors the New York Daily News and The City University of New York, hotline workers will answer calls in English, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Russian, Korean, Italian, Haitian Creole, Bengali, Polish, French, Yiddish and Arabic.
Citizenship NOW! — The largest program of its kind in the nation — was co-launched by the Daily News and CUNY in April 2004 and this year the 15th annual hotline is aided with support from media partners Univision Communications Inc. and WABC-TV.
“The New York Daily News is pleased to partner with CUNY to support immigration and citizenship issues in New York City and around the nation by together providing important, confidential and free information and referrals to assist those immigrants who may qualify for citizenship,” said Eric Gertler, co-chairman and co-publisher of the Daily News.
“Citizenship Now! is the most comprehensive university-based immigration legal service program in the country,” said CUNY Chancellor James Milliken. “It’s an important reminder to all that at CUNY, immigrants matter.”
For the English/multilingual hotline, call (212) 444-5968, for Spanish, call (212) 444-5964 and dial 711 for deaf and HoH.
HER ‘SISTER ACT’ BENEFIT
Afro-Latina dancer and actress Karisma Jay — who’s got Broadway experience under her belt and the community service in her heart — is bringing “Broadway to Brooklyn for all ages to enjoy” in the AbunDance Academy of the Arts’ production of “Sister Act AbunDantly!”
The AbunDance Academy of the Arts show — at the Kings Theatre, 1027 Flatbush Ave in Brooklyn next Sunday at 6 p.m. — is fundraiser for the community-oriented group, which trains students age 2 to 80.
The show — a theatrical performance featuring students and performing artists — tells the tale of a successful Broadway star from Brooklyn who returns to her hometown, spreading love for the arts around the borough.
There are influences from the original 1990s classic Whoppi Goldberg movies “Sister Act” and “Sister Act 2” in “Sister Act AbunDantly”! show. And Jay appears in the lead role as Deloris Van Cartier, a part made famous by Goldberg.
Born in Brooklyn, with roots in Panama, Jay has performed on Broadway, television and in ensembles as a dancer and actress. She began sharing her passion for the arts when she founded the AbunDance Academy of the Arts in 2013, with the mentorship of Cheryl Smith, former artistic director of Full of Energy School of Dance.
The school trains students and offers sliding scale fees to families, in addition to offering full scholarships. Although seeking a new permanent location, the academy students are still being taught and rehearsing in temporary spaces. To aid the relocation effort, visit the academy’s GoFundMe page: www.gofundme.com/abundancehastomove.
Tickets for “Sister Act AbunDantly!” are available through www.Ticketmaster.com.
For information, visit www.abundancearts.org, call (347) 788-1069 or send email to info@abundancearts.org.
“Sister Act AbunDantly!” is being presented with support from the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs’ Su-Casa program, city’s Department of Aging, Councilmembers Mathieu Eugene and Inez Barron, and the AbunDance Parents Association.
PIONEERING DANCER TRIBUTE
The 13th Memorial Tribute for Dance Pioneer Lavinia Williams Yarborough — a “pot luck” gathering celebrating the “life, legacy and teaching” of the late dancer and educator — will be held next Sunday in Manhattan at the Alpha Omega Theatrical Dance Company Studio, 70 E. Fourth St., from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Video images, photos, and personal memories of Williams Yarborough will be shared at the affair, which includes a repast.
Williams-Yarborough was a distinguished dancer — performing with the famous Katherine Dunham Dance Company and other groups in the U.S. — before going to Haiti in 1953 to work with the National Folkloric Troupe. The following year, she founded the Haitian Institute of Folkloric and Classical dance and for worked conducted extensive research on dance and folklore for decades.
Attendees can bring any photos or artifacts of Williams-Yarborough or contribute a dish of your choice, snacks or beverage for the reception following the event. To contribute or get information, contact Noel Hall at (718) 857-4643, by email at nhall3@verizon.net or email Jill Williams at clarkcenternyc@gmail.com.
ANTHONY BOURDAIN IN T&T
The cultural gems and culinary delights of Trinidad and Tobago are quite familiar to many, but on tonight Anthony Bourdain, will spread the word about the twin-island nation to the viewers of his award-winning, popular “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown” show on CNN. The show airs at 9 p.m.
A TALK ABOUT CARIBBEAN MIGRATION
Educator Yinka Stanford will trace post-emancipation migration patterns in the Caribbean in a talk on Saturday in Queens at the Cambria Heights branch of the Queens Public Library, 218-13 Linden Blvd., at 1:30 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.
Stanford will look at the movement of people to Britain, France, the Netherlands, the United States and Canada after the emancipation colonies in the Caribbean. Call the library branch at (718) 528-3535 for information.
WHEELCHAIR DRUG BUST, SAY FEDS
A passenger arriving from St. Lucia in a cocaine-accessible wheelchair, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials who say American citizen Yoncela Stanley was found with a quantity of the drug in the back seat cushion of her wheelchair.
Last Sunday, Stanley — who now faces federal narcotics smuggling charges — arrived at Kennedy Airport as disabled passenger in a wheelchair.
During an inspection, CBP officers noticed that the back seat cushion of her wheel chair appeared unusual. The back seat cushion was removed and officers’ packages containing a 27 lbs. of a white powder that tested positive for cocaine. Stanley was arrested and turned over to Homeland Security Investigations. Estimated street value of the cocaine was $468,000.
