Jamaican Golden Jubilee to be Celebrated with Church Services and Flag Raisings
Monday, August 6, 2012 • 6:11pm
Jamaica’s black, green and gold flag will fly high over East Orange, N.J., on Aug. 6; Paterson, NJ on Aug. 10; and West Orange, NJ Aug. 14, when the local Jamaican community will celebrate their island nation’s 50th anniversary of independence with flag-raising ceremonies and a church service Aug. 12 at 4pm at New Hope Baptist Church located at 144 Norman Road, East Orange.
Organized by the Jamaica Organization of New Jersey (JON-J), the events commemorate Jamaica’s independence from Great Britain.
Rev. the Hon, Stanley Redwood, President of the Senate of Jamaica will be coming from Jamaica to participate in the flag raising ceremony in Paterson NJ. Mayor Bowser of East Orange will be in attendance at the ceremony on the steps of City Hall on Aug. 6. The Hon. Herman G. LaMont, Consul General of Jamaica, NY will be the featured speaker at the flag raising in West Orange where Robert Parisi is Mayor.
The festivities will start August 6 at 5pm on the steps of East Orange City Hall with music provided by local radio station Road Block Radio and feature guest artist DaVille. The annual Independence Thanksgiving Service will be Aug. 12 at New Hope Baptist Church located at 144 Norman Road, East Orange and starts at 4 P.M. The guest speaker will be Rev. the Hon. Stanley Redwood, President of the Senate of Jamaica. The church event will include a choir from Church of the Nazarene, Bronx NY and will end with a reception in the fellowship hall. Refreshments will be provided by the area’s Caribbean restaurants.
“This year is a special one for Jamaica and all Jamaicans as we celebrate our 50th anniversary as an independent nation, said the Hon. Elsie Foster-Dublin, borough president of Highland Park and V-P of JON-J, so we invite you to attend the activities and events to mark this milestone! I echo the theme – Come Feel the Heart and Soul of a Nation”
Though they now call New Jersey and the United States home, millions of Jamaican-Americans gather each August to mark their country’s independence from Great Britain.
For more information about JON-J or the independence celebration events, call (848) 228-2976.
