CLACC-C showcases pre-World Steel Pan Day celebration

The Brooklyn-based Carlos Lezama Archives and Caribbean Cultural Center (CLACC-C) says it will be showcasing a pre-World Steel Pan Day celebration on Saturday, Aug. 10, at the Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 1, downtown Brooklyn, from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

CLACC-C said on Wednesday that the event will highlight, among others, Pan Evolution Steel Orchestra, Eruption Steel Orchestra, Metro Steel Orchestra, and a special performance by Earl Brooks, Jr. & Company. 

Pan Aficionados taking in the action during CLACC-C 8th annual Pan Fest in August 2021.Photo by Nelson A. King

“My father Carlos Lezama was a steel pan musician when steel pan wasn’t a popular and acceptable instrument to play,” Yolanda Lezama Clark, CLACC-C president and former president of the Brooklyn-based West Indian American Day Carnival Association (WIADCA), organizer of the grand West Indian Carnival Parade on Labor Day, on Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, told Caribbean Life. Her late father was a founding member and president of WIADCA. 

“Today, it is held high and recognized worldwide,” added Lezama Clark, referring to the steel pan. “I am so happy that CLACC-C is able to partner with the Brooklyn Bridge Conservancy in our pre-celebration of World Steel Pan Day. My dad would be proud.” 

Lezama Clark’s daughter, Leah Clark Brisard, a CLACC-C executive and registered nurse, also told Caribbean Life that the organization is “excited to share this FREE monumental occasion with not only the steel pan fraternity but with the community at large. 

Winner Pan Evolution Steel Orchestra (PESO) in action during the CLACC-C Youth Pan Fest in August 2021Photo by Nelson A. King

“Our mission is to develop, promote and preserve Caribbean culture and history, and we accomplish this mission via our youth through youth-based programs,” she added. 

In 2023, the United Nations designated Aug. 11 as World Steel Pan Day. 

Lezama Clark said CLACC-C, on Aug. 10, will pay homage to Caribbean culture with the pre-World Steel Pan Day celebration. 

She said CLACC-C, which was founded in 2005, “provides historical, social and cultural information on the diverse dimensions of Caribbean life.”

For more information, follow CLACC-C on Facebook or via its website at www.claccc.org

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