12th Annual Free Youth Pan Fest this Saturday honors legacy

Leah Clark Brisard, an executive member of the Brooklyn-based Carlos Lezama Archives and Caribbean Cultural Center (CLACC-C), says that the center will on Saturday host its free 12th annual youth pan festival competition, honoring late stalwarts in the community.

Clark Brisard, who is a registered nurse by training, told Caribbean Life on Tuesday that the event will take place on St. John’s Place, between Brooklyn and Kingston Avenues, in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m., outside the landmark home of Carlos Lezama, her late grandfather, and co-founder and former president of the Brooklyn-based West Indian American Day Carnival Association (WIADCA), organizer of the annual Caribbean Carnival Week in Brooklyn.

She said this year’s event will be dedicated to the late Michael Roger Young Lao, CLACC-C’s co-founder, who was a pillar in the creative technology behind Caribbean cultural displays and programs.

Former Council Member Dr. Mathieu Eugene with Yolanda Lezama-Clark (left) and her daughter, Leah Clark-Brisard, during the CLACC-C Youth Pan Fest in Brooklyn in August 2021.Photo by Nelson A. King

Clark Brisard said tributes will also be made to the late Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, the daughter of Barbadian and Guyanese immigrants, and Lezama, who had also pioneered the West Indian-American Day Carnival Parade.

She said, among other things, there will be live entertainment, youth solo performances, wide-ranging varieties of Caribbean food and back-to-school giveaways during the family-friendly festival.

Clark Brisard said the festival will include steelpan enthusiasts, culture buffs and music aficionados of all ages.

“Several youth steel bands will be judged on technique, composition and creativeness for a chance to win trophies and prizes,” she said, adding that CLACC-C’s Youth Pan Fest will feature a diverse lineup of performances from New York City’s youth ensembles, including Metro Steel Orchestra, Pan Alley, Pan Evolution Steel Orch, Eruption Steel, Harmony Music Makers, Black Loves Steel and Genesis Steel Orchestra.

“Attendees can look forward to immersing themselves in the rhythmic beats and soul-stirring sounds of this extraordinary instrument,” she continued. “Earlier this year we lost the co-founder of CLACC-C, who was also our ‘dad’ and mentor.

“He believed in the importance of legacy and continuing the work of Mr. Carlos Lezama, the father of the NYC Carnival,” Clark Brisard said. “He was a visionary, an artist, and his canvas was through live streaming. His only wish is that we continue to honor the legacy of Mr. Lezama and those who have worked tirelessly to keep our culture alive.”

She said CLACC-C’s vision is to continue to build its learning center, “which is the former home of Congresswoman Chisholm and Lezama, in honor of their legacy.”

Clark Brisard said the Youth Pan Festival will be live-streamed on Saturday on the Carlos Lezama Archives & Caribbean Center Facebook & YouTube Page at 1:30 p.m.

For more information, visit www.claccc.org.

More about CLACC-C

CLACC-C is a non-profit institution devoted to the development, promotion and preservation of Caribbean culture and history through the collection of archives and art memorabilia.

Established in 2005, the CLACC-C mission is to educate communities regarding Caribbean heritage.

“It promotes and preserves West Indian culture and history through the growth of an archive center dedicated to the legacy of Carlos Lezama, the godfather of Brooklyn’s annual Caribbean Carnival on Labor Day,” CLACC-C said