Brooklyn’s International Day
of Friendship This Sunday
Consulate of Poland To Take Part
BROOKLYN, NY, August 1, 2018: Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams encourages all New Yorkers to take part in his fifth annual International Day of Friendship on Sunday, August 5th, 2018, celebrating the hundreds of cultures and ethnicities that make Brooklyn an unparalleled center of diversity. Borough President Adams has emphasized the importance of valuing Brooklyn’s diversity as one its greatest assets and has made his “Embrace Your Hyphen” campaign — encouraging Brooklynites to celebrate and learn about the borough’s vast ethnic and linguistic diversity through awareness campaigns, cultural programming, and media outreach — a central pillar of his borough presidency. The day’s festivities will consist of a series of cultural features beginning at 1:00 PM with a Unity Parade of Flags, consisting of the flags of 195 member states of the United Nations marching down Fulton Street from its intersection with Flatbush Avenue toward Brooklyn Borough Hall. Following the parade, there will be a cultural performance at 2:00 PM at the main stage in Columbus Park Plaza featuring many of the borough’s most talented performers. The program, which will be MC’d by Radio 103.9’s Roxie, will run through 5:00 PM and will include a series of artistic and cultural performances from a wide variety of groups; a taste of ethnic cuisine from an array of local food trucks such as A Taste of Greece, Deli N’ Dogz Pastrami Truck, and Makina Café MC, and a global dance party where attendees will be able to showcase their dance styles in the Columbus Park Plaza by the tunes of London-based global garage music DJ EZ and Dwana Smallwood Performing Arts Center, Inc. Borough President Adams highlighted the important symbolism of International Day of Friendship as Brooklynites come together to celebrate diversity.
“There are not many places in the world that could say that they have more than 200 languages spoken throughout their municipality every day and that more than 40 percent of the people living there are born in a different country,” said Borough President Adams. “As Brooklynites, this is our greatest strength and something we should embrace and celebrate. I am excited to be hosting our fifth International Day of Friendship celebration, so that we can come together as a community and learn about each other’s stories, struggles, and strengths. This celebration is not only about embracing our own hyphens, but also learning from others. By embracing our own and others’ hyphens such as Italian-American, Jamaican-American, and Russian-American, we can all be a part of One Brooklyn.”
The artistic and cultural performances taking place at the main stage will include Nuevo Milenio, a folkloric Panamanian dance group representing the Americas; Harambee Dance Company, an African dance group representing Africa; Ajna Dance Company, an Indian dance group representing Asia; Braata Productions, a Caribbean performing arts company representing the Caribbean; Brooklyn Ballet, a non-profit dance organization representing Europe, and Ori Manea, a Tahitian dance school representing Oceania.
Following the success of last year’s Global Village, Borough President Adams is pleased to announce its return at this year’s International Day of Friendship event featuring tents from countries around the world including Barbados, Belarus, China, Egypt, Ghana, Guyana, Haiti, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Panama, Poland, Russia, South Africa, and Turkey. Visitors will be able to have an interactive experience in each of these tents to feel, hear, and see unique cultural artifacts and stories. Community and cultural organizations that will be representing their respective countries include the Consulate of Barbados, Consulate of Belarus, Consulate of Ghana, Consulate of Guyana, Consulate of Haiti, Consulate of Mexico, Consulate of Poland, Consulate of South Africa, Consulate of Turkey, Egyptian American Arts and Cultural Organization, Mongolian Heritage Foundation, Moroccan American Council to Empower Women, Panamanian Community of Brooklyn, Sino-America New York Brooklyn Archway Association, and Sunflower Center, Inc.
Partner organizations for International Day of Friendship include the Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Children’s Museum, Home Depot, New York City Office of Emergency Management (OEM), and Wildlife Conservation Society. This year’s sponsors include AARP, Bed Bath and Beyond, Combined Health, Duane Reade by Walgreens, Emblem Health, HBO, Healthfirst, JPMorgan Chase & Co, MetroPlus Health Plan, Modern MD, NYC & Company, Ponce Bank, Radio 103.9, Ridgewood Savings Bank, Target, and WellCare.
“AARP is pleased to cosponsor Brooklyn’s International Day of Friendship on behalf of our nearly 200,000 members in the borough, who represent a wide variety of cultural backgrounds,” said Reggie Nance, associate state director of AARP New York. “While August 5th will be a day to celebrate the diversity of our cultures, AARP will continue our work every day to tackle inequality and make Brooklyn a more affordable and livable place for all New Yorkers.”
“The family of Bed Bath and Beyond stores at Liberty View in Sunset Park is thrilled to be a part of Brooklyn’s International Day of Friendship,” said Bari Fagan, director of brand integration of Bed Bath and Beyond. “We’re happy to partner with all of our neighbors in Brooklyn.”
“We are proud to support Borough President Adams’ fifth annual International Day of Friendship as we celebrate and recognize the value of diversity,” said Tony O’Dierno, senior vice president and zone manager for the east at Combined Insurance. “We employ hundreds of sales agents and managers in this region who join us from different walks of life and experiences. This is what makes our culture family-friendly — driven by our common purpose of helping families when they need us most and giving back to our communities.”
“Healthfirst is honored to be a part of the International Day of Friendship with Borough President Adams,” said George Hulse, vice president of community engagement of Healthfirst “We are privileged to serve the residents of Brooklyn, and we are deeply committed to supporting our borough’s cultural programs.”
“We are proud to be a part of the vibrant Brooklyn community and excited to support the International Day of Friendship, which celebrates Brooklyn’s cultural diversity,” said Ed O’Donnell, market manager of JPMorgan Chase & Co.
“MetroPlus Health Plan is proud to support Borough President Adams and the International Day of Friendship celebration as we salute the diversity of Brooklyn where nearly one third of all residents are foreign-born,” said Gail L. Smith, chief customer officer of MetroPlus Health Plan. “We are many, but we are always one, when we embrace and celebrate our differences, as we do each International Day of Friendship.”
“We at ModernMD Urgent Care specifically chose to make Brooklyn home to our network of walk-in clinics, because we’re inspired by the diversity, vibrancy, and unwavering sense of community that is so intrinsic to our borough,” said Melissa Cohen, vice president of marketing and business growth of ModernMD. “We’re honored to support Borough President Adams’ International Day of Friendship in celebration of the many cultures, backgrounds and histories that have woven the fabric of our communities.”
“We’re so pleased to support Brooklyn’s International Day of Friendship as it unites and celebrates the diverse culture of the borough,” said Fred Dixon, president and chair of NYC & Company Foundation. “Our visitors from around the world flock to experience the unique communities of Brooklyn, and it is with initiatives such as this that proves the borough is so proud and welcoming.”
“We are proud to be part of the fifth annual International Day of Friendship in the vibrant borough of Brooklyn,” said Carlos P. Naudon, president of Ponce Bank. “We encourage everyone to come to this exciting event as we know that all will enjoy it.”
“Ridgewood Savings Bank is excited to be a part of Borough President Adams’ fifth annual International Day of Friendship celebrating diversity in Brooklyn,” said Lou Ann Mannino, vice president of branch operations of Ridgewood Savings Bank. “Participating in the event is just another way in which we can help ‘Multiply the Good’ in the communities we serve.”
“International Day of Friendship aligns with Target’s core values of celebrating diversity and inclusion,” said Kelly McGarrity, New York metro community captain of Target. “Target is proud to support Borough President Adams’ celebration of the ‘hyphen,’ which is what makes this borough so unique and exciting.”
“Walgreens and Duane Reade are excited and honored to support our very first International Day of Friendship,” said Abdula Ajrula, district manager of pharmacy and retail operations of Duane Reade by Walgreens. “We celebrate the diversity of the great borough of Brooklyn, and look forward to seeing our neighbors on this day.”
As with previous years, Borough President Adams will cap his International Day of Friendship celebration with a group singing on the main stage of “We Are the World.”
