Hip-Hop Concert Headlines South Florida Events for Saturday's HIV Testing Day

Organizers of the "Show U Know" concert on Saturday, National HIV Testing Day, aimed for a large turnout of young people by booking acts like Miami-based rapper Pitbull, hip-hop artist Trick Daddy, and national radio host Ricky Smiley as emcee.

"We're trying to do something to get through to the next generation," said Donovan Thomas of the new Tri-County HIV Awareness and Testing Initiative, which organized the first-time concert. "There's no intervention that really focuses on the youth."

The group promoted the show for two months. Although free of charge, admission was restricted to those getting tested for HIV. Thomas said 3,800 people from Homestead to West Palm Beach had been screened ahead of Saturday, and one-third of these were first-time testers.

"We feel we have been reaching people who maybe are scared and haven't gotten tested," said Thomas.

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