The village of Anna in the Rupununi is gearing up to host, for the second time, the Rupununi Music and Arts Festival, and with the programme being finalised, it is truly shaping up to be an “experience of a lifetime.”
“Without a doubt, 2015 will be an excellent event,” says director Dr Bob Ramdhanie.

“Developing an innovative programme like this in the grasslands in Annai will always present challenges and we still face some of those,
“However, we have made positive strides since last year and there are many new and exciting additions to the weekend”.
The Festival opens this Friday and ends on Sunday.
One of the festival’s patrons, George Simon, the internationally renowned visual artist and archaeologist, will be participating in this year’s event.
The Festival will feature a wide range of musical and dance performances; a variety of arts and craft, participatory workshops in visual arts, plus a series of ‘information sharing sessions’ with the European Union (EU) in Guyana, Conservation International (CI), Republic Bank and the President Youth Award Republic of Guyana.
Some of the local performers are Gavin Mendoca (rock music with a twist), Ras Camo (on steelpan), Chuckie (traditional drums), Trevor Rogers (from the Georgetown Jazz quintet), Tracy Douglas (dance) and the Surama Cultural Group.
Representing the US will be JJ Kent of the Native American Oglala Lakota nation. Brazil is sending the Regio Jazz (quintet) and Capoeira Angola Palmares (a Capoeira, mixed group), along with Isaias Miliano (creative artist) and samba dance instructor Wilkinson Oliveira.
Though the festival runs from Friday-Sunday, the camping area will be open from Thursday until Monday. There will be over 30 hours of music and activities around the gardens at Rock View Lodge.
On Friday, Festival begins after sunset with traditional Amerindian music and dance to welcome everyone to the peaceful grasslands of the Rupununi. The evening will continue with a musical journey flowing from traditional Amerindian into a mixture of Brazilian and other Caribbean flavours.
On Saturday, there will be opportunities to leave the festival village with tour guides who will help you explore the beauty of some of the surrounding areas and there might be possibilities to enjoy the area’s beauty from the air. In the afternoon, there will be a range of interactive workshops on art & craft, basket weaving, cotton spinning, dance (African, Samba, and Capoeira) among others.
On Sunday, the lazy, laid back feeling continues but if you wish to be inspired by an early morning musical treat on Inspiration Rock also there will be more musical performances from the afternoon into the night.

The venue – Rock View Lodge
Nestled between the Amerindian villages of Annai and Rupertee, where the Pakaraima foothills meet the tropical rainforest, Rock View Lodge offers comfortable lodging, outdoor and cultural activities, authentic Amerindian hospitality, and access to everything else that central Guyana has to offer.
Rock View Lodge has been welcoming visitors to the savannahs and rainforests of Guyana’s Rupununi since 1992. The Lodge works with the local Amerindian community to build economic opportunities, provide professional development, preserve traditions, and improve a sustainable tourism infrastructure in Guyana’s pristine interior.
The Amerindians of the Rupununi are mostly of the Macushi people.