Brooklyn, NY -- (ReleaseWire) -- 10/05/2009 -- On October 29, Brooklyn-based non-profit organization Transdiaspora Network (TDN) will host a Halloween Carnival and Costume Contest at New York hot spot Boucarou Lounge from 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM. Top prizes will be awarded for the best costumes in a variety of categories, and partiers can enjoy drink specials before 9 PM, including $6 caipirinhas. Throughout the night, TDN will be raffling off tons of prizes including yoga classes, beer from Brooklyn Brewery, bowling at Brooklyn Bowl, gift certificates from Book Court and other local business, and much more.

Admission to the party is “pay what you can” with a suggested minimum donation of $15. All proceeds collected at the door and from raffle tickets are tax deductible and will directly fund TDN’s groundbreaking HIV prevention and youth leadership programs for at-risk youth in Brooklyn. Boucarou Lounge (http://www.boucaroulounge.com) is located at 64 E 1st Street in Manhattan.

“Halloween is about scary tricks,” said TDN Founder and Executive Director Ariel Rojas. “But it's even scarier to think about how many teenagers get tricked yearly because of the lack of HIV prevention programs tailored to their needs. When infected, there is no candy that can make it better, but TDN is dedicated to preventing the spread of HIV and raising awareness about it.”

Transdiaspora Network is an innovative non-profit organization dedicated to developing culturally relevant HIV education and prevention initiatives for Caribbean-American youth in Brooklyn, a population at high risk for infection but underserved by mainstream prevention initiatives.