For those students whose pocketbooks didn't allow a trip to the Caribbean during spring break, there is an opportunity to experience the flavor of the islands this weekend.

Tomorrow afternoon, The Caribbean Students Association will hold the 15th annual Caribbean Experience at 5:30 in the HUB Ballroom. The all-day affair will feature authentic food, music and dancing and will cost $10 for adults and $3 for children younger than 13. After 9 p.m. the event will be free.

Renee Bramwell, the association's vice president, said the festival got its start in 1977 when Caribbean student Elmore Brown decided to share his culture with the rest of the community.

From that simple beginning the festival has grown into a much larger event. This year the celebration has expanded past the boundaries of the University. Caribbean students from six universities have been invited to attend. Dinner and entertainment will highlight the culture of the Caribbean, said Bramwell (junior-biology).

The night will feature many regional dishes as well as music from the Caribbean Sports Youth Movement, a 30-member steel drum band from Brooklyn, N.Y.

Association President Gerard A.L. Louison (graduate-public administration) said the event will bring a little of the islands to State College.

"It's the perfect opportunity for someone in State College to learn about Caribbean culture," he said.

It also affords members of the Carribean population to sit down with one another and share in their own culture, not something that can occur everyday in the bustle of University life, he added.

For ticket information, call The Caribbean Student Association.