If you’re craving authentic Jamaican cuisine, or wanting to try it for the first time, a flight to Jamaica will cost you about $300, and that’s if you want to stay on the island and never return. There’s also a simpler, less expensive option. The International Marketplace Coalition is hosting its next dine-in event, Taste of the Caribbean, April 26 at New Wineskin Ministries.
Taste of the Caribbean will feature the various foods and cultures of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Jamaica, Trinidad, Cuba and Haiti. Along with at least two dishes from each country, attendees will get a taste of music and performances, as well as cultural education. There will be a conga line, steel pan drummer, traditional dancers and a performance from reggae artist Kingly T.
Mary Clark, founder and CEO of the International Marketplace Coalition, said these quarterly dine-in events are like “dinner and a movie on steroids.” It’s meant to be fun, yes, but Clark said it’s also meant to show people that “even though we have differences, we really can live together and learn from one another.”
The International Marketplace Coalition is made up of about 80 ethnic restaurants and 40 ethnic markets within a 2 1/2-square-mile area on the west side around 38th Street and Lafayette Road. It took a hit last month when Indy’s International Marketplace, the central hub for the coalition, was forced out of its building on Commercial Drive after failing to reach a purchasing agreement with the property owner.
April’s dine-in was one of the events suddenly without a home, but New Wineskin Ministries stepped in to host it while the coalition’s leadership searches for a new building. (Clark said they’re close to finding a new building.)
This will be the fourth dine-in event. At the initial one, which showcased the Philippines, Clark said about 50 people showed up. The most recent one had over 260 people, amd organizers had to put out extra tables. These events are growing, Clark said, because people understand food is “the one factor that brings us together. … It’s the one thing we all enjoy.”
Clark said she’s heard from people who attend about how much they value experiencing another culture. She’s even heard from people who said they learned something new about their own culture.
“We are learning that we’re not so different,” Clark said. “… That’s the one thing I hear over and over and over again.”
Contact staff writer Tyler Fenwick at 317-762-7853. Follow him on Twitter @Ty_Fenwick.
TASTE OF THE CARIBBEAN
When: 6-9 p.m. April 26
Where: New Wineskin Ministries, 4501 W. 38th St.
Tickets: $25 for adults, $15 for children, free for children under 5 at imcoalition.org. Tickets are $35 at the door.
