Released: August 10, 2005

3rd Annual Multicultural Outdoor Celebration Set For August 14
Free Concert, Fair Takes Place at The Learning Corridor
 
(Hartford) – The 3rd Annual Summer Family Multicultural Outdoor Celebration kicks off at noon Sunday, August 14, at the Capitol Region Education Council’s Learning Corridor.  In addition to the main attraction – a free, outdoor concert – the event features raffle prizes, arts and crafts vendors, food vendors, diverse entertainment and informational booths on water and bike safety, as well as health services.  Festivities will end with a special performance by the Grammy Award-winning Spanish Harlem Orchestra, accompanied by Hartford’s own Ray de La Paz.  Bring a lawn chair or a picnic blanket and celebrate at one of Hartford’s Rising Stars.
 
Event hosts include the Aetna Center for Families, YMCA Urban Initiatives, Connecticut Innovations, CT Institute for Community Development-Puerto Rican Parade, Inc., and HPN.
 
The Celebration provides families an opportunity to attend an outdoor event chockfull of “need to know” information and entertainment.  The YMCA will provide water safety instruction and open swim time for families from 11 a.m. to1 p.m. at The Learning Corridor Indoor Pool.  From 1-3 p.m., the Hartford Police will kick off their Cops N Kids program, distributing books to youth.
 
At 1 p.m., an array of local community entertainment will begin with groups from Areyto Latin Dance Studio, the Asian Academy of Arts, Caribbean American Dance Group, Hartford’s up-and-coming meringue group 2Ble Bombazo and many others.  The Spanish Harlem Orchestra – who recently won a Latin Grammy Award for their debut album with Ruben Blades – concludes the festivities.
 
This event will be held in the interior campus of The Learning Corridor.  Parking is available in the garage located on Brownell Avenue.  This is a family event and no alcohol will be sold or permitted.  Registration runs from 12-3 p.m.  For more information, please call Aura Alvarado-Strudwick at 524-4065 or Zul Alonso at 757-6409.
 
The Learning Corridor is a 16-acre campus consisting of a unique cluster of schools; the Montessori Magnet Elementary School, Hartford Magnet Middle School, the Greater Hartford Academy of Math & Science, and the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts.  Also included on the campus are support programs for youth and families – Boys and Girls Club and the Aetna Center for Families. The Learning Corridor blends public health concepts into the educational instruction for students, faculty, parents and the entire community. There is no other public school campus in the country that combines these elements.  The Learning Corridor was developed by a collaborative effort called the Southside Institutions Neighborhood Alliance (SINA), comprised of Hartford Hospital, the Institute of Living, Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, Trinity College, and Connecticut Public Radio, along with the State of Connecticut and the City of Hartford, and is under management by the Capitol Region Education Council.

Capitol Region Education Council
111 Charter Oak Avenue
Hartford, CT  06106
860-247-CREC
860-246-3304
www.crec.org
 
For Immediate Release:
August 10, 2005
 
Contact:
Aura Alvarado-Strudwick
860-524-4065 or 250-6541
aalvarado@crec.org
                                                                                               
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