New Jersey Folk Festival Program Book 2013 Apr. 2013 | Page 11

Eleanor Bullock is the director of GAMAE Arts and

Culture. Born in a small coastal village in Belize, Bullock
has become a leading figure in the growing renaissance
of young Garifuna intellectuals, artists, and scholars who
are writing poetry and plays in the Garifuna language. A
graduate of Syracuse University’s Visual and Performing
Arts Program, Bullock has designed and created performing
arts programs based on the Garifuna culture and language.
In 2005, Eleanor co-created the Habinaha Garinagu
Language & Performing Arts Program, which enables
youths to explore and celebrate the language, cultural
traditions, and arts of the Garifuna community. In addition
to preserving the Garifuna language, Bullock has started
several programs to empower Garifuna women and young
girls, including the GAMAE Education Divison, and the
GAMAE Empowering Women to Lead Change Program.

Patrice Fisher and Carlos Valladares

are a duo that specializes in musical fusion. With
Fisher on the harp, and Valladares on percussion, the
group likes to mix musical traditions from around
the world with Jazz, in order to create something
that is entirely original.The group travels around
the United States and Latin American 8 to 10 times
a year, performing their diverse sound. Their most
recent CD, Sunset, features two versions of the
song “Sunset at Waver,” with both versions played
in a different style. They hope to take the song to
Founded in 2004, and reorganized in 2010, Thailand in the future, and to let the local culture
Maki is a polish dance ensemble led by influence the way the song is played.
Christine Olszewska. The group is a part
of the larger Polish Dance School Maki,
in Columbus, New Jersey. Consisting
of 29 kids between the ages of 6 and 17,
the group has performed across America,
including performances in New Jersey, New
York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and
Washington D.C. Maki regularly performs
at the Pulaski Day Parade in New York City,
and have performed at the Polish Consulate.
In October 2011, the team participated in
the celebrations of the 30th Anniversary of
the Pope John Paul II foundation in Rome.