Part of the explanation for this relative neglect must be the prominent place the celebration of festivals has in work on cultural diversity. Most people whose families came from the Caribbean are Christians, or at least celebrate festivals such as Christmas. Other Caribbean religious celebrations (apart from Hinduism) are little known or are viewed with suspicion.
This is true of Rastafarianism, but is even truer of those religions with clearly African origins, such as Santeria, Ifa or the much-demonised voodoo.
Over the past two decades the Caribbean tradition of 'masquerades' (carnivals) has begun to manifest itself in this country. Notting Hill has the best-known example, but Leicester, Luton and other places have had similar carnivals. These provide a potential basis for activities in the setting.
Some other pointers:
* Children's songs have always been central to Caribbean culture. Putumayo has an excellent CD titled 'Caribbean Playground' that serves as an introduction to them.
* Storybooks with a Caribbean theme include Dale's Mango Tree by Kim Robinson, Lucille Travels at Christmas by Jasmine NToutome, My Book of Caribbean Fruits by Patricia Brown and Ackee, Breadfruit, Callaloo, an alphabet book by Valerie Bloom.
* Caribbean food is becoming better known and specific ingredients are widely available, in large cities at least. Several recipe books are available and, with Christmas on the horizon, you could consider making pastilles - a traditional Christmas pasty from Trinidad.
