Along with Miami-Dade Parks and Recreation Dept., from 12 noon - 5 p.m. at the MLK Memorial Park at 6000 NW 32nd Ct., corporations, community and civic groups will collaborate to produce  cultural programs, entertainment performances, and culinary experiences--all designed to honor, promote, unify, and preserve our local, vibrant African and Caribbean heritage.

 

Rooted in the ingenuity and excitement of the human spirit, this intergenerational celebration is key to cultivating racial pride and nurturing community building by recognizing ethnic contributions to our contemporary society and transmitting that knowledge to future generations.

 

With a people-centered approach that focuses on improving the local communities' self-reliance, social justice, and participatory decision-making, the festival engenders the connectivity, sustainability and quality of place necessary to build strong, responsible, peaceful, loving families.  Together, they are more cognizant and adaptive to different ways of seeing, understanding, experiencing, and transforming where we live, how we work, and what we dream--both for ourselves and our world.

 

 Presented by Cox Media on the WEDR 99

  JAMZ Mainstage, hosted by international

  recording artists and top DJs. the Soundtrack of

  Our Lives will showcase a variety of music

  genres: R&B, Soul,Jazz, Reggae, Rap, Salsa,

  Merengue, Hip Hop, Rake-n-Scrape, Soca,

  Reggaeton & Haitian Compas. 

 

 Live music, dance, and theater will be performed on the Cultural stage with artworks exhibited

  throughout the venue.

 

 For children 5-14, a Children’s Village, sponsored by Miami Parks & Recreation offers interactive

  games, sport & physical challenges and an exploration of MLK history.  With the goal of promoting

  the importance of  culture and the arts in expressing individual and collective freedom, kids will

  participate in creative arts projects designed to spotlight and communicate MLK’s message to

  today’s world.   

 

 A Marketplace affords vendors the opportunity to sell a variety of products, including clothing,

  cosmetics, oils, books, jewelry, tropical plants, herbs, spices, natural products, arts & crafts, and

  more.

 

 Local restaurants, food trucks, and grocers staff the

  Food Corner--a fan favorite, crowd unifier, and an impactful

  economic element--where you can sample a variety of menus

  and foodstuffs from Soul Food to Louisiana Creole to

  traditional dishes from the Caribbean and the Motherland. 

  Delicious menus include African falafel fritters; Brazilian

  espetinhos; African American barbecue; Trinidadian doubles

  and roti; Jamaican patties, jerk ribs and chicken; Cuban

  arepas; Bahamian conch fritters; Haitian griot; Mexican tamales; Dominican empanadas; fried

  plantains, boiled peanuts, roasted corn, and coconut water.

 

“I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin,

but by the content of their character.”

                                                                           - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.