- President pledges ‘safe and secure’ event
THE steel band encapsulated Guyanese music, ranging from the folk song “Jane Engage” to that Chutney tune “Guyanese Baboo.” A Trinidadian limbo dancer set the stage on fire. And African maroon and Javanese dancers from Suriname mesmerized with a fusion of their music, dance and martial arts.

Then President Bharrat Jagdeo sent the clear message that Guyana is ready - ready to stage “the finest showcase of Caribbean talent” in the tenth Caribbean Festival of Creative Arts (CARIFESTA X) this August.
Once Minister of Education, Dr Desrey Fox, invoked the gods in her indigenous tongue, even the threat of rain and a small band of women protesters could not stop the launching ceremony, held al fresco against the backdrop of the impressive façade of the Bank of Guyana Building at the junction of Church and Main streets in Georgetown.

The President said he was officially launching the event with “a sense of pride and history.” CARIFESTA is returning to Guyana, its birthplace, for the first time since the inaugural staging in 1972.
Mr. Jagdeo said when the Bahamas backed out of hosting the event, he took on the challenge for Guyana, believing in “the strength and ability of our people” to stage the event in one year, even though it usually takes two years to organise.

His comments brought applause and he said Guyana’s successful hosting of the event will make all Guyana proud, including the Opposition. The emphasis on the opposition was spurred by threats from Opposition Leader Mr. Robert Corbin to make CARIFESTA “unmanageable” were his party’s concerns not addressed by the government.

Stilt dancers and Mother Sally bring back the traditional masquerade dancers with a rush.

Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr Frank Anthony, weighed in on the matter earlier, calling for an end to “petty squabbles.”

The President said that the government was investing heavily in staging the event and he was sure that CARIFESTA X will attract more visitors than those who came early last year for Cricket World Cup.
That investment includes $30M towards the development of the steel pan music and a waiver of all duties on musical instruments to ensure that when CARIFESTA X closes, the legacy will be left of Guyana having world class entertainment facilities, the lack of which has in the past stymied the hosting of international events.

Mr. Jagdeo said that in keeping with the spirit to expand CARIFESTA beyond its traditional scope, the government has invited participation outside of the region, and so far confirmation has come from Venezuela, Brazil, China, Morocco and Austria. He said too that some 1,352 persons have already registered their participation.

The President stressed that the government is sparing “no effort” to make the event a success, and pledged a “safe and secure” Guyana in extending an invitation to overseas participants and visitors.

Minister Anthony called on Guyanese to tell their relatives in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom to come home for the event.

Musicians provide an authentic accompaniment to the masquerade band.

Assistant Secretary General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Mr. Colin Granderson paid tribute to Guyana taking on the challenge to host CARIFESTA in just one year. He said CARIFESTA is a cultural root of Caribbean integration and development.

The cultural performances which formed the opening ceremony were intended to whet the appetite of the Caribbean for what is to come. And it did just that.

The programme opened with the two MC’s, Guyanese comedian Henry Rodney dressed as a “flouncer” in a masquerade band, and Trinidadian Felix Edinborough dressed in the performance costume of carnival comic character “Peirot Grande”.
The National Combined Steel Band, which has been formed especially for CARIFESTA, enthralled the audience with their renditions which moved from folk to contemporary renditions.

From Suriname, a Javanese dancer is flanked by Suriname Maroons in a curious blend of Afro rhythms and Eastern motifs.

Then came “The Joker is Wild” on stage with all their masquerade characters: flouncers who danced in wild abandon to pipe music and drumming; the mad bull; ‘Bam Bam Bam Sally; Mother Sally; and stilt dancers.
The National Dance Company performed to the ceremony’s theme “One”, with dancers dressed in the colours of the various Caribbean flags.

A group of children then came on stage bearing the flags of the different Caribbean countries on their foreheads and uttering the motto of each country. The eruption of the crowd to Guyana’s national anthem – One People, One Nation, One Destiny – came as no surprise.

Belly dancer Sandella thrilled the crowd when she danced to a medley of Chutney songs. The Surinamese performance was captivating, as African maroon dancers gave way to a Javanese dancer and then a Javanese martial arts practitioner in what was a carefully choreographed fusion of some aspects of the neighbouring country’s cultures.

But it was Trinidadian Makeba Gabriel who stunned the audience with her theatrical limbo performance, including dancing her way in carnival costume under a bar less than a floor off the ground and on fire. Fire!

The event ended with President Jagdeo unveiling the CARIFESTA logo and theme, “One Caribbean; One Purpose – Our Culture; Our Life.”