Marching Band in Borgne supported by Friends of Borgne wearing Honeoye Falls shirts. Photo by Johnny Estimable
On July 31 Honeoye Falls will celebrate 11 years as a Sister City to Borgne, Haiti.
Friends of Borgne (https://friendsofborgnehaiti.org/), a local non-profit supporting education in Borgne, will host a celebration on July 31, 2022 at Dipper Dan’s, 136 W. Main Street in Honeoye Falls from 2 – 6 PM. Dipper Dan’s will donate to Friends of Borgne for every ice cream order!
Friends of Borgne has supported a band composed of Borgne children. On May 18th, Haitian Flag Day, the band performed to celebrate. As a result, they have been invited to a “battle of the bands” competition on July 18.
The coordinator, Johnny Estimable, has provided donated instruments and instruction. Music teachers from Cap Haitien were hired to provide lessons on the weekends in Borgne. In only five months the students learned how to play the instruments and to actually play together and when the Rochester Institute of Technology students visited Haiti after delivering the instruments, they were welcomed by the band. Wearing Honeoye Falls soccer shirts and fronted by a group of young majorettes, they looked and sounded great. They could play the Haitian National Anthem. The band also plays for funerals and weddings. The band receives payment for funerals and weddings allowing them to continue their work and purchase supplies.
The Sister Cities program that Honeoye Falls participates in can help and you can help by buying ice cream at Dipper Dan’s on July 31. In addition to taking a lick of ice cream to help Borgne, attendees will hear more about Borgne, celebrate the 11th anniversary of the Sister City program and enjoy The Don Griffin and Friends band (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2cfA7tnr6I) as they play rock music.
If you can’t make it to the celebration, join Bill Nies, owner of Springwater Sprouts, who traveled to Borgne in 2012, and match whatever donation Dipper Dan’s makes at the event. An anonymous donor has also agreed to mark this celebration with a match. If other businesses or individuals would like to donate in any amount, please contact us at: FriendsOfBorgne@gmail.com or send to Friends of Borgne P.O. Box 486 Honeoye Falls, NY 14472.
