Pompano Beach is throwing a free night of island music next Saturday, and this time it booked headliners people will cross the county for. The 5th annual Pompano Beach Caribbean Fest takes over Pompano Community Park at 1801 NE 6th Street on Saturday, Oct. 17, from 5 to 10 p.m., with Trinidad and Tobago soca star Farmer Nappy and the Haitian kompa band Klass at the top of the bill. Admission is free.

Two headliners, two islands

The lineup, posted on the city's Parks and Recreation event page, is built to cover the two biggest Caribbean communities in this part of Broward in one evening. Farmer Nappy brings soca, the fast, horn-driven carnival music of Trinidad and Tobago, the sound of carnival from Port of Spain to Broward. Klass plays kompa, the smooth, couple-dancing music that has been the heartbeat of Haitian parties for generations and remains the soundtrack of every Haitian wedding and family celebration in South Florida.

Putting both on one stage, for free, in a neighborhood park, is the reason this one is worth a drive. Tickets to see either act at a club or a carnival-week fete usually cost real money. Here the only spending is on food.

The rest of the night

Two reggae acts open the show: Reggae Force, and Paul Anthony and the Reggae Souljahs. DJ Mike Cooley handles the music between sets, and Tracy J hosts. The city's announcement, released Oct. 5, describes the mix as soca, kompa, reggae and other island rhythms, which is about as accurate a summary of a South Florida Caribbean party as you will find.

Around the stage, local vendors will sell Caribbean food, from jerk chicken to island sweets, along with art, crafts, jewelry and merchandise. The parks department also promises costumes and cultural showcases, the colorful side of carnival culture that kids tend to remember longest.

Why Pompano does this

Caribbean Fest is a city production, put on by the Pompano Beach Parks and Recreation Department, and five years in it has settled into a fixed spot on the fall calendar. It belongs here. Broward is home to large Haitian and West Indian communities, and Pompano's own neighborhoods carry that heritage in their churches, restaurants and bakeries. A festival like this is one of the few nights a year when that culture is the main event at a city park rather than a background to it.

It also comes at a good moment on the regional calendar. Miami Carnival's parade moved to Lauderhill this year, putting the biggest Caribbean weekend in South Florida in Broward, and Caribbean Fest gives North Broward a homegrown version of its own, without the crowds or the cost.

If you go

Pompano Community Park sits at 1801 NE 6th Street and is home to the parks department's own offices. The festival starts at 5 p.m. and runs until 10 p.m. Bring cash or a card for the food vendors, and bring a chair or a blanket if you plan to stay for both headliners. It is billed as family-friendly, so this is one to bring the kids to.

Questions about the day go to Pompano Beach Parks and Recreation at 954-786-4111. Anyone who wants to sell food or crafts, or sponsor the festival, can still find the vendor and sponsor forms on the event page.