Honoring the region's best at the 2012 Caribbean Heritage Month Cultural Extravaganza

To commemorate Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago's 50th anniversary of independence, the nations' best and brightest will be honored at the Caribbean Heritage Month Cultural Extravaganza on June 15, at the Miramar Cultural Center in Miramar, Florida, at 7:30 p.m.

In honor of this special event, get to know this year's honorees and their invaluable contributions through our weekly profile.

Peter Minshall – "Mas Man Extraordinaire"

As one of Trinidad and Tobago's most celebrated costume designers and artists, Peter Minshall is lauded for his inspired mix of traditional Carnival characters, innovative techniques, and social and spiritual commentary. He premiered on the national stage in 1976 with his first legendary collection, Paradise Lost. In 1978, he formed his own Carnival band, the Callaloo Company, and became known for his "dancing mobiles," which allowed designs of unprecedented scale and theatricality.

Firmly believing that Trinidad Carnival is "living art that we make fresh every year," Minshall remains an inspiration to generations of artists. He has helped design the opening awards ceremonies for the 1987 Pan American Games, the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, the 1994 Football World Cup and the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, of which he won an Emmy for Outstanding Costumes for a Variety or Music Program (2002). He has also been awarded the illustrious Guggenheim fellowship and the 1996 Trinidad and Tobago's Trinity Cross for art and culture

Orlando Patterson – "Freedom in the Making"

Jamaican-born Orlando Patterson is an award-winning sociologist with acclaimed insight on the issues of race, politics, social welfare, and poverty. His research has explored "the culture and practice of freedom; the comparative study of slavery and ethno-racial relations; the sociology of underdevelopment in the Caribbean; and the problems of gender and familial relations in black societies of the Americas."

In his early career, Patterson was the Special Advisor for Social Policy and Development for former Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley. Later, as the John Cowles Professor of Sociology at Harvard University, Patterson authored numerous academic papers and five major academic books including, Slavery and Social Death (1982), Freedom in the Making of Western Culture (1991) and The Ordeal of Integration (1997). He is also an avid columnist for the New York Times, and has published insightful critiques on current issues in Time Magazine, Newsweek, The Public Interest, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.

In 1999, Patterson was awarded the Order of Distinction by the Government of Jamaica.