12:00 CariFest: Culture, Identity, and Celebration
1:00 River otters in Rochester: A conservation success story
This year marks the 39th anniversary of CariFest, Rochester’s signature celebration of Caribbean heritage and unity. But beyond the costumes, music, and the food, CariFest tells a story of migration, perseverance, and the richness of cultures that have shaped this city for over a century. We’ll explore the history, the music, the meaning of Carnival, and what it means to celebrate multiculturalism at a time when immigrants and communities of color are still under threat.
In studio:
- Alan Prescod, president of the Rochester West Indian Festival Organization (RWIFO)
- Kadya Donadelle, vice president and parade coordinator of the Rochester West Indian Festival Organization(RWIFO)
Then in our second hour, a rebroadcast of one of our favorite conversations. The Seneca Park Zoo recently welcomed the first-ever North American river otters to be born at its facility. Zoo leaders say it's a conservation success story that has been decades in the making. It comes at a time when a shift in federal priorities has affected environmental and wildlife protections: funding cuts to USAID and a funding freeze for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have halted projects centered on animals facing various threats, including extinction. Can the local project serve as a model for continued conservation work, despite changes at the federal level?
Our guests discuss it.
- David Hamilton, general curator at the Seneca Park Zoo
- Larry Buckley, Ph.D., senior associate dean of the College of Science at RIT
- Laura Gaenzler, community science coordinator for the Seneca Park Zoo Society
- Tom Snyder, director of programming and conservation action for the Seneca Park Zoo Society
"Connections" is livestreamed each day on the WXXI News YouTube channel. Watch here.
