Moves Under the Stars Event Held at Generations Park

Last weekend, PICEI held a Movies Under The Stars Event at the Senior’s Center in Hogansburg. Turnout was good, the weather was good, and the mosquitoes were as voracious as ever. Even the mosquitoes were not enough to take away from the family fun though. Florence G. Patterson and crew offered refreshments to all the attendees at very reasonable prices. Sunday they showed “The Three Stooges.” Attendees brought blankets and camped out on the lawn in front of a large inflatable screen. The organization responsible, Pamoja International Cultural Exchange Inc. (PICEI), seeks to foster cultural understanding and unity, through events such as this. “In each culture there is so much good, and we need to emphasize that,” Patterson said.

PICEI was founded in 1982 in Deer Park, Long Island, by a group of executives who felt the country needed to know how to better form opinions and understanding of other cultures. The founders felt that European culture was exposed disproportionately to youth, and it was believed that youth that were interested and excited about their own culture could share their culture with others. Another motivation was that schools did not have enough positive images of other cultures. Through Movies Under the Stars, people would have something to do in the community, and Patterson felt this was a good way to expose them to free family entertainment, and also incorporate elements of culture. Patterson picked “Spirit” for the first event to showcase how special our traditional culture is. Patterson said, “Spirit took (those attending) into the enjoyment of learning about themselves.”

Movies Under The Stars is, along with family fun, a working method to engage the community in discourse in an effort to facilitate the exchange of ideas and understanding on culture. Questions would be asked to see what some of the people gained from the original movie. Patterson added, “Even in regular movies you can see people who are kind, and those not so kind. So all of these movies can show people who you will encounter in life, and that can be discussed.”

PICEI has another event scheduled tentatively for the last weekend in August at their office, which is currently under construction. The office will be dedicated to Jean Herne when completed. For more information on the activities, such as cruises and travel, that PICEI participates in, visit their website at PICEI.ORG