Earlier this month, the 35th Annual Culturama Festival was held on the island of Nevis. For those unfamiliar with Nevis, its part of a two-island nation called St. Kitts/Nevis located in the Eastern Caribbean. Nevis, the smaller of the two islands, is unspoiled in its beauty and unashamed in its pride. The annual Culturama Festival is steeped in the rich culture and deep traditions of proud people of Nevis. I have close ties to Nevis as a direct descendant of a Nevisian and am proud to share the experience of Culturama with my followers.
From its beginnings in 1974, Culturama seeks to continue, preserve and teach to others the rich cultural heritage of Nevis: The festival achieves this goal through music, arts & crafts, food and lots of liming!!! "Liming" is the local term for just chillin'! I visited Nevis several timespreviously, however, never had the pleasure of visiting during Culturama. This year, Red Carpet Shelley had to be there! It was a blast and, of course, I have lots of fun pics and videos to share with you (but you know that I couldn't share ALL my pictures with you though!!!)
Rap star Chris Bridges, aka Ludacris, hosted a party last week premiering his new cognac called "Conjure". There was an open bar from 10-12 midnight however, the old "let's hold the club line until nothing is free" ruse was in effect! As such, your girl can only "conjure" about what the cognac might taste like (no, I was not paying for it aight!). It was described on a wine and spirits website as "Hand-crafted by connoisseur Chris Bridges... this signature cognac uses a highly selective blend of thirty to forty eaux-de-vie, aged in fifty-year-old Limousin oak barrels. With the same mastery he brings to his music and performance, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges has artfully woven a custom blend and bouquet into the signature smoothness of Birkedal Hartmann Cognacs" whateva that means!
Luda looked very dapper as he embraced his fans and posed for many pics. I love the goggles Luda! Ok, but why a sista wasn't in your VIP -- I'm just sayin'??
Michael Jackson's 51st birthday would have been on Saturday, August 29, 2009. Last year, upon reaching his milestone 50th birthday, the King of Pop said in a Good Morning America interview “I feel very wise and sage, but at the same time very young”. Asked how he would spend the day, he said that he would be listening to James Brown music and would “just have a little cake with my children and probably watch some cartoons”. When asked about the happiest times in his life the King of Pop went back two decades and reflected on the album releases of "Off The Wall" in 1979 and "Thriller" in 1982. Jackson said that the songs "meant very much to me and they seemed to be received so beautifully by the public and the world,” he said. “I enjoyed it very much.”
Jackson spoke loving words about his children (Prince Michael, 12, Paris, 11, and Prince Michael II, 7, affectionately known as Blanket). He said he wanted them to “enjoy their childhood as much as possible. “I let them go to the arcade and go to the movies and do things. I want them to get to do the kind of things I didn’t get to do. So I fill them with a lot of enjoy that way – a lot of amusement, you know? I get pretty emotional when I see them having a wonderful time, when they are on a ride and they are screaming and they are happy.”
Tomorrow, August 29, 2009, in commemoration of his birthday, fans in Mexico City have decided to gather in huge numbers to dance to Michael Jackson's "Thriller". The goal is to set the record for the most people dancing to the record-breaking hit song at one time. Sadly, on the same day Michael's family will be laying him to rest at Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park in California.
In just eight months, PhyliciaRashad, the Tony Award winning actress has achieved her weight loss goal of 35 pounds . The actress best known for her role as the Cosby mom, knew she needed to improve her health when climbing three flights of stairs literally took her breath away. She decided to lose weight and become a spokesperson for Jenny Craig. Rashad achieved her goal by eating 1,200 calories a day (basically a sista was starving!) and then exercising three to four times a week for 30-40 minutes. In a released statement, Rashad said, "the most rewarding thing about reaching my goal weight is that I feel so much lighter. There's just an overall sense of well-being. And there's the increased energy as well too. It's nice to have people say you look nice. Who knew losing weight could be so much fun?"Really, seriously? Jenny Craig must have paid her a lot of cheese to say losing weight was fun!!! But I am ready to sign up too! Jenny Craig, holla at your girl!
Anyhoo, Rashad looks awesome and is set to debut her new slim figure in a Jenny Craig commercial tomorrow.
After three seasons on Keisha Cole's hit reality show "The Way it Is", Frankie & Neffie premiered their own show last night on BET. The highly anticipated "Frankie and Neffie" show centers around the zany, over-the-top drama surrounding the mother and daughter pair. My favorite mother daughter duo appeared on the Ryan Cameron radio show yesterday to promote the show and wanted everyone to know that the show is about "growth". Frankie gave a shout out to Manny (their manager) "for being our strength and our family and making sure that Frankie and Neffie made a difference so that all the families around the world can see that its not too late...and don't give up on your loved ones" -- profound words from a mother who has seen it all!
To celebrate, Frankie and Neffie hosted a premiere party last night in Atlanta . Red Carpet Shelley attended and it was a blast!
After recently pleading guilty to felony assault for his post-Grammy attack on Rihanna, yesterday Chris Brown was sentenced. Brown is fortunate and will not have to serve jail time. He will serve five years probation and perform 1,400 hours community labor. Mr. Brown will have to stay 100 yards away from the pop star. Brown will also receive much needed domestic violence counseling. Hopefully, Brown who recently apologized for his actions, will benefit from the court ordered counseling and eventually get his career back on track. In his apology last month, Chris asked for forgiveness "I have told Rihanna countless times, and I'm telling you today, that I'm truly, truly sorry in that I wasn't able to handle the situation both differently and better," Brown said. "What I did was unacceptable, 100 percent. I can only ask and pray that you forgive me. Please."
The community "labor" will be performed in his home state of Virginia so don't litter the streets of Virginia or Chris Breezy may have to clean up your mess!
