On February 26th the Cari-Folk Singers arrive in New York tri-state area for a series of benefit performances in celebration of African Heritage month. None in the group could have guessed that their high school project would spawn a major cultural institution but the internationally acclaimed Cari-Folk Singers owes its origin to a group of senior students at Excelsior High School in Kingston, Jamaica who came together to participate in an annual cultural competition for seniors. After winning awards in the 1973 competition, the group of eight went on to perform folk songs at various school functions, tea parties, barbeques and fairs. Remaining together, they underwent a number of name changes over the years-- "Bedward", "Bedlam" and "Caribbean Folk Singers"-- before finally settling on "Cari-Folk Singers" a name that clearly captures their dreams and reflects their goals.

In its formative years the group blossomed under the direction of Keith Gordon, an outstanding musician and graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in London, England. Gordon introduced the young singers to formal voice and music training. This position of musical director was later taken over and is still maintained by Kathryn Dyke who joined the group as a drummer. Dyke's musical arrangements define the musical style and quality of the group today. The multi-faceted Cari-Folk Singers prides itself in bringing folk culture to life by presenting drama and dance during its renditions. The performances are enhanced by lively but voice appropriate choreography, mime and drama. Kudos to Rev. Gordon Cowans who is responsible for having put movements to a fair portion of the group's repertoire at the inception. In today's presentations, Carol Miller, choreographer and Patricia Newland, movements director maintain the high standards set by their predecessor.

Dedication and love for folk music are binding forces that have kept Cari-Folk Singers together over the years and are reflected in their motto "Love expands with Unity." Over the years, the group has attracted new talent, growing to become a formidable ensemble of twenty-five that continue to entertain, educate and inform through a repertoire of over four hundred songs. Members are from all walks of life and are involved in various professional fields. A number of founding and near-founding members remain active in expanding the unity and form a nucleus for the group, ensuring longevity and maintenance of standards and serving as a repository of knowledge for "all things Cari-Folk." Several lend moral and material support from diverse places around the world, giving credence to the contention of the group that "Once a Carifolk always a Cari-folk."

The Cari-Folk Singers operates on a mandate to preserve and promote Caribbean folk culture-which stands in danger of passing with the elders. "Folk music is a teaching tool from which we can map an illustrious future by coming to grips with the past and learning from it," says Winston Cowans a foundation member, echoing the African "Sankofa" proverb - "One must return to the past in order to move forward." Within its mandate of preserving and promoting folk culture, Cari-Folk Singers has always recognized the need to target youth as a primary audience and engages in organizing cultural workshops in conjunction with the Jamaica Ministry of Education, Youth and Culture through its Culture Agents in Schools program. This entails presenting aspects of folklore to groups of teachers, by means of demonstration, performance, verbal instruction and discussions. Their musical arrangements and donations of their CDs are widely used as teaching tools in schools.

Traditionally, Cari-Folk has supported and promoted concerts in a wide cross-section of schools, usually by way of joint fund-raisers that benefit the schools and Cari-Folk Singers alike. This provides a unique opportunity to blend cultural education and entertainment, i.e. cultural edutainment. Since 2002, the Jamaican government has dedicated one day in each of three school terms per year as a culture day and Cari-Folk Singers is currently developing a plan to use these days for special school performances. Throughout each year, Cari-Folk Singers participates in many and varied functions-- church and funeral services, wakes, dinners, variety concerts, state visits, weddings, receptions-- dedicating a number of free performances to various charitable groups. One notable beneficiary over the years has been Marigold Children's Home. Periodically, they make field trips to revival churches, kumina groups, brukins groups and most recently, the Charles Town Maroons in order to maintain contact with various folk forms in their natural and evolving state.

Thirty (30) years after its inception, Cari-Folk Singers is one of Jamaica's foremost exponents of the folk genre, giving performances that appeal to every age group and treating their audiences to a unique harmonious blend of voices, instrumentation, movement and drama highlighting the richness and diversity of the African- Caribbean culture. Their popularity continues to grow by leaps and bounds. The 2003 season themed 'Tep Ova Makka' (overcoming obstacles), applied the folk treatment to four popular songs to tell an arousing modern story in pantomime form. This story surrounds villagers who received a deportee, played by Corey Wilson, into their midst with mixed emotions. He lives with a mentor, played by Erica Brown, who 'try wid im' and reacquaints him with country life, but when the time comes for him to contribute his portion of work in the community, he slacks off.

The deportee flirts with women, causing discord in the district, and proceeds to impose or 'chuck' badness on the long-suffering people. When efforts to correct him fail, he gets caught in a web of crime and is arrested. The noble townsfolk put up money to get a good lawyer because after all he is 'one a dem'. The deportee goes to jail, shortly which after this his mentor dies, leading to a turnaround in his thinking and behavior, and he is finally successfully integrated into the community.

The music has taken Cari-Folk Singers beyond the borders of Jamaica to the world stage with performances in Austria, Cuba, England, Grand Cayman, Mexico, Panama, and the United States. It was in Linz, Austria that they participated in the inaugural staging of the International Choir Olympics where they won a gold and two silver medals in July 2000. This festival encompassed a field of 350 choirs from 60 countries in which Cari-Folk singers was the lone entrant from the Caribbean. Curtailed by financial restraints, the group was unable to attend the second Choir Olympics in Korea in 2002 but is determined to "tep ova makka" to participate in 2004. "We intend to win three gold medals in 2004," states a confident Winston Cowans. To achieve this, the group must first make its way to Bremen, Germany where the Olympics will be held. To help make this happen they will perform a series of fundraiser concerts themed "Tep Ova Makka" (Overcoming obstacles) in Connecticut, New Jersey and New York during African Heritage Month 2004.

For further information on the Cari-Folk Singers in Tep Ova Makka "on the road to Germany 2004" well-wishers can call 718-421-6927 or email info@kujimagazine.com.