The Tribune

Bahamas Actors & Filmmakers Group. - A meeting was held on Monday of the Bahamas Actors & Filmmakers Group, bringing together members of the Bahamian acting and filmmaking community.

The event was held at Track Road Theater’s Place, formerly known as The Hub.

A Powerpoint presentation was followed by a lighting workshop by Matthew Kelly, then a screening of a scene from the short film “Sperrit Bottle”, written by Danae Cash, and then a lengthy discussion on the state of filmmaking in The Bahamas.

Attendees talked about some of the things that are needed, as individuals who will be a part of the Bahamas Actors and Filmmakers Association (BAFA) and in terms of what needs to agitate for. Questions were raised such as “What do you as an actor need?”, “What do you as a producer need?” and so on. Proper compensation for work and experience was a primary response.

In attendance were 30-year veterans such as actor Rudy Levarity, upcoming actress D’Adra Smith, Celi Moss of Yeh Man Films, Moya Thompson of C2it Productions, Travon Patton of 12:01 Studios, Matthew Kelly of Track Road Theater (and a number of people from the TRT crew), Jackson Petit of Small Art Pictures, Nicholas Hall, Tara Woodside of No Budget Productions, Leslie Tynes, Bernard Petit, and a number of others.

Chairman Jasper Haeward, who presently attends Full Sail University in Orlando, joined the meeting by Skype at. The group is in the process of sending out a call to production houses to become partners as the group seeks to become a formal association. So far, the group is halfway to the goal of securing the necessary funds thanks to donations from 12:01 studios, Bahfari Films, Track Road Theater and the members of the BAFA board.

The group is preparing to host a screening event for the first BAFA-produced film project, “Sperrit Bottle”. While the group is not a production house and does not seek to be one, members had decided to produce a few short film projects to allow inexperienced persons from the community to get film acting and crew experience by working with experienced persons in the film community.

Eventually, the group seeks to have its own website and film viewing channel where this film, along with others from partnering production houses, can be seen.

Bahamas Homeschool Association. - Abeka, Bob Jones, Calvert, and The Potter’s School are household names for many families who have decided to homeschool their children. For the past eight years, many of these home educators have displayed their resources at the annual Homeschool Curriculum Fair. This year’s event is slated for Tuesday, June 23, at 7pm at the Earle Weech Auditorium, Calvary Bible Church, Collins Avenue, and is being hosted by the Bahamas Homeschool Association (BHA).

“Homeschooling continues to grow exponentially in The Bahamas because the conventional education system is failing many of our children,” said Pastor Cedric Moss, President of the BHA. “While homeschooling is certainly not for every child and every family, we’ve seen many formerly struggling, unfocused students helped and placed on a path of academic success and positive development through homeschooling.

“Our annual Curriculum Fair provides an opportunity for those who are interested in homeschooling or new to homeschooling to talk first hand with veteran homeschoolers about the various curricula and homeschooling resources they use and to receive encouragement on the homeschooling journey.”

The perception may be that the homeschooling journey is academically focused, but a conversation with many homeschooling parents who will be at the Curriculum Fair will quickly reveal their sense of a higher priority to train their children as guided by the Bible. Scripture passages like Deuteronomy 6:1-9 inform their choice and the sacrifices they make to take the less travelled path of homeschooling. Public opinion continues to weigh in on the debate regarding the causes for the growing level of crime and disorderliness in our country, and it is generally accepted that parenting plays an enormous role in shaping character and tooling children to be productive, law abiding citizens. In this regard, homeschooling affords parents with extraordinary opportunities to shape more intentionally the character their children.

Some of the commonly asked questions are: Why homeschool? Is it legal in The Bahamas? Are homeschooled children properly socialised? What about national exam sittings? The answers to these questions and others can be provided by our homeschooling families and exhibitors.

The admission cost to the Curriculum Fair is $5 for adults (children under 18 are free), and the general public is invited to attend.

Cycling Club Bahamas. - Cycles main Bike Tech will be on vacation at the end of next week (for two weeks), if you need to have work completed for the Potcakeman Tri, please bring your bike by early next week.

Upcoming events: Saturday - leaving 6am sharp from Harbour Bay Shopping Centre in front of First Caribbean Bank, 30 miles headed West. In order to complete this ride, it is recommended that you have done some recent cycling! Leaving P/I bridges optional at the end. The pace will range from 18–20+mph, two-hour duration.

Sunday - leaving 6am sharp from Harbour Bay Shopping Centre in front of First Caribbean Bank, 40-50 miles headed east. This ride is not recommended if you have not cycled recently or first timers! P/I bridges optional at the end. The pace will range from 18–20+mph, 3-3.5 hour duration (cyclists are invited to join in anywhere along the route).

Morning rides west - Wednesday and Friday, 4:45am, Cable Beach Police Station, West Bay Street, 20-mile ride route. Headed east to Montague and return. One-hour duration. Cyclists capable of 16+mph welcome. Contact Shantell the day before to confirm your attendance: shorelinecargo@gmail.com.

Afternoon rides west - Tuesdays and Thursdays, leaving 5:30pm sharp, parking lot next to Lyford Cay Gas Station. 18 or 24 miles depending if you do second loop. This is an advanced cyclist’s ride. The pace will range from 20+mph Intermediate new 18-22mph, see Spyder.

Morning ride east - Tuesdays and Thursdays, leaving 5am sharp. Start/end Seagrapes Shopping Centre (under the big sign), East Prince Charles Drive: 1-1.5 hour duration. Cyclists capable of 16+mph welcome. Prince Charles Dr- Eastern Road-Shirley St-Church St-East Bay-Eastern Road- Prince Charles. Please have lights attached to your bike.

June 21 - Potcakeman Super Sprint Relay Jaws Beach, New Providence. http://www.potcakeman.com.

July 5 - Independence Cycling Championships, 74 miles, start/finish Goodman’s Bay, 7:15am. Category 1 & 2 (Elite Men) 74 miles, Category 3- 50 miles, Masters & Open Women 50 miles, Novice Men & Women 28 miles, Juniors 28 miles bahamascyclingfederation@gmail.com

July 18, 7am – Spanish Wells, Eleuthera. Spanish Wells Cycling Association 1st Annual Cycling Road Race. The race will be Criterium style, 2.4 mile laps for 50 min. Categories: 15-49yr, Masters, 10-14yr. This race will be run the same weekend as the Legendary Spanish Wells Fisherman’s Fest (www.fishermensfest.com). Transportation to/from Spanish Wells is easiest on Bahamas Fast Ferries www.bahamasferries.com. Accommodation / transportation Spanish Wells www.HarboursideBahamas.com Contact: Andre@HarboursideBahamas.com or call 242-333-5022.

August 8 & 9 – Bahamas Cycling Invitational, VIVA Cycling. Two-day event. Jaws Beach parking lot. Teams from Bahamas, Colombia, Cuba & USA compete for Junior Championships!

September 5 - Potcakeman Sprint Triathlon, Jaws Beach, New Providence.

Kiwanis Aktion Club of Fort Montagu. - The Kiwanis Aktion Club of Fort Montagu president, members and advisors attended the Kiwanis Division 22 Interclub on Tuesday, May 19. The guest speaker was Dr Delon Brennen, Deputy Chief Medial Officer with the Ministry of Health who spoke on the proposed National Health Insurance (NHI) for the Bahamas.

Kiwanis Aktion Club of Fort Montagu meets the 1st and 3rd Thursday each month at the Anglican Diocese Office Sands Road 6-7pm.

Rotary Club of East Nassau. - The Rotary Club of East Nassau (RCEN), in collaboration with Rotary Club of Old Fort Bay and members of the Bahamian and international community, raised more than $7,000 to support the rebuilding of Nepal at the “Bahamas For Nepal” Fundraiser on May 29, 2015. This small country, like the Bahamas, was devastated as a massive 7.8 magnitude quake ripped through the country killing more than 8,000 people and impacting eight million on April 25.

The event at John Watling’s Distillery included ‘signature dishes’ from some of the best chefs in Nassau enjoyed with live music. The chefs presented a delicious variety of dishes, showcasing the diversity of small Bahamian businesses. The fundraiser also included a small auction and the launch of crowd-funding site Bahamas For Nepal. The goal is to collect $5,000 through the site by June 17. While attendees at the fundraiser donated generously for helping the people of Nepal, the Bahamian community is encouraged to log in and donate at: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/bahamas-for-nepal--2/x/10897582#/story

All net proceeds will go directly to Rotary’s Disaster Assistance Fund (DAF) and Crisscross Funding in helping with the aftermath of the earthquakes that ravaged Nepal. This help will be in the form of long-term shelters built by Rotary’s DAF and trauma counseling provided to the survivors by Crisscross Funding.

You can visit Rotary Club of East Nassau’s website at: http://rcen.org/ and Crisscross Funding at: http://www.crisscrossfunding.org/

The club would like to thank the Rotary Club of Old Fort Bay, MEAH Foundation, John Watling’s Distillery and all volunteers, donors and attendees. The crowd-funding site is accepting online donations until June 17.