Dominica’s Ambassador, Hubert John Charles was in attendance at the Zouk  in the Park event held in Mount Rainier, Maryland on Sunday September 27, 2015.  Among the attendees from French Caribbean countries was local lawyer and businessman Mr. Gabriel Christian.

Many other Caribbean nations were represented and the music that reflected the Afro-French Caribbean beats provided the perfect atmosphere for the crowd perusing the wares and sampling the culinary delights..

A primary focus of the event was to build awareness about the efforts underway to help rebuild Dominica after the recent devastation caused by tropical storm Erika.  Event participants bought raffle tickets for prizes that included books about Dominica and island spices. The raffle was hosted by Rebuild Dominica (www.RebuildDominica.org). A food drive was also held to support victims of the storm. Ambassador Charles provided remarks and thanked everyone for their participation. He encouraged attendees to keep up the efforts to rebuild Dominica.  

Zouk is both a style of music and a dance. Zouk has its origin in the French Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique. The term “Zouk” literally means “party” in Creole language. Zouk music is characterized by a slow rhythm and a heart-beat like deep base line.