THE Caribbean Festival of the Arts (CARIFESTA) is perhaps the greatest platform for showcasing the cultural diversity of the various Caribbean countries. It presents an excellent opportunity for networking and developing long-lasting relationships between the citizens of those countries.

The recently-concluded 11th edition of this festival is a complete manifestation of just that, as it was our neighbour’s, Suriname’s, turn to organize and host this auspicious event, which was nothing short of spectacular this year.
CARIFESTA XI was held from August 16 to 25 under the theme “Culture for development: Celebrating our diversity and promoting the central role of culture in economic, social and human development”. A wide variety of events was held at various venues in Suriname’s capital city of Paramaribo.
This theme was evident as events such as an Extended Grand Cultural Market and trade fair; performing arts, theatre, dance, music, symposia, community festivals, youth focus, craft, and film festival were held.
Besides the 15 states that make up CARICOM, the festival saw participation from countries in the wider Caribbean, South and Central America, and as far afield as Indonesia, India, South Korea and China.
Guyana had the largest delegation to CARIFESTA XI, with approximately 100 persons, 60 of whom were catered for by the Government of Guyana, and all of whom travelled to Suriname on Thursday, August 15, 2013, giving them time to settle in at their hotel and prepare to be a part of the audience at the grand opening ceremony on Friday evening.
The estimated 10,000-strong audience at the opening ceremony, held at the Independence Square in Paramaribo, was dazzled by the tremendous display of cultural talent of the Caribbean people, as the festival sought to celebrate the arts, foster a vision of Caribbean unity, and positively advance Caribbean culture regionally and internationally.
CARIFESTA XI was officially opened amidst a wide array of cultural performances, including what will no doubt be the talk of the town in the weeks ahead — the show-stopping display put on by some 340 Surinamese children and ten Shaolin Monks from China.
Apart from the various forms of entertainment and cultural performances, there was also a parade of nations in which members of the national army and police paraded with the flags of the various participating countries.
Additionally, the flags of the participating countries were illuminated on the façade of the Presidential Palace, while a spectacular display of fireworks helped make the event even more fascinating.
This was just the beginning of what can be termed a well-organised CARIFESTA by the Suriname CARIFESTA Organising Committee, which worked in close collaboration with the participating contingents.
The Extended Grand Cultural Market of CARIFESTA XI was held from August 17-24, and persons from the host country, Suriname, and other participating countries filled the venue to see what each country had to offer in areas such as visual arts, arts and craft, and culinary arts.
With approximately 13 booths, Guyana dominated this event, and persons could be seen flocking our booths, with some even entering the venue and heading straight to the Carnegie School of Home Economics culinary arts booth to purchase delicious cuisine such as curry, cookup rice, fried rice and black cake.
Guyana was also well represented in the Literary Arts section of the Grand Cultural Market, with the University of Guyana’s display of books from the Guyana Prize for literature, Guyana Classics, Caribbean Classics, as well as children literature.  These books included those from Guyanese writers and poets such as Ian Mc Donald, David Dabydeen, Wilson Harris and Janice Shinebourne.
Children present at the event were also treated to story-telling and lecturer in Art education from the University of Guyana. Mr. Michael Khan told patrons about the various elements of Guyana’s intangible cultural heritage.
Patrons at the event grasped the opportunity to get a glimpse of the literary skills of the Guyanese people, and their contribution to the literary arts of the Caribbean.
Guyana’s country booth at the  event displayed arts and craft from throughout all of the administrative regions of the country, as well as important travel information.
Items on display from organisations such as the Guyana Arts and Craft Producers Association and the Carnegie Craft Production Centre included leather slippers, bags, tokens, hand bags, costume jewellery, and crochet costume jewellery.
Guyana’s visual arts section of the exhibition highlighted the work of established artist  Bernadette Persaud, emerging artist Akima McPherson, and young artist Shimuel Jones.
Bernadette Persaud gained national recognition in 1985 when she became the first woman to win the national visual arts exhibition and competition; and among her many awards since then is a national honour for an outstanding contribution to the cultural mosaic in the field of art.
She is currently the art editor of the Arts Journal in Guyana.
Emerging artist Akima McPherson has a Master of Arts degree in Art and Space from the Kingston University in London, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Fine Arts from the University of Guyana, and a diploma in painting from the E.R. Burrowes School of Art in Guyana.
In December, 2012 she won the Judges’Special Award in the Guyana National Visual Awards Competition and Exhibition.
Young artist Shimuel Jones is a member of the Hebrew Israelite faith, and is deliberate in his engagements, using his work to talk about cultural practices of the present, which he anticipates will be of the future.
He will graduate this year from the University of Guyana with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Fine Arts.
There was also work on display from artists who were not present at the event, including the Main Street Art Group, University of Guyana, Guyana Women Artists’ Association, and invited artists such as Ivor Thom and Betsy Karim.
In the area of fashion, Guyana was well represented with fashion designers such as Carol Fraser and Sonia Noel, who showcased high fashion as well as semi-traditional fashion, with fashion shows taking place every night at the Grand Market.
In the Fashion and Accessories category, natural fibres in bags, accessories, shoes and clothing were also showcased.
Participating countries in CARIFESTA XI were each given a chance to grace the stage to display the culture and talent of their people, and Guyana transformed the stage at the country’s cultural night.
Guyanese of all races took to the main stage on the fifth night of CARIFESTA, to showcase their talent with cultural performances, which included the dances of the various ethnic groups of Guyana, such as Amerindian, African, East Indian and Chinese.
Patrons at the event were also treated to interpretive and masquerade dances from the talented Guyanese dancers, decked out in the colours of Guyana’s National Flag, the Golden Arrowhead.
The National Steel Orchestra of Guyana played renditions of songs such as “Guyana Baboo” by Terry Gajraj and “Johanna” by Eddy Grant.
The beautiful scenery of Guyana, including the country’s luscious virgin forest, was illuminated on two large screens which stood on either side of the main stage.
Additionally, there was a mixture of music from the sounds of Tassa and African drums, as well as instruments such as the triangle and rattles.
Guyana’s 2012 Calypso Monarch and reigning Chutney Monarch, ‘Young Bill Rogers’, treated patrons to calypso music, while former Chutney Soca Monarch Rajesh Dubraj graced the stage with chutney music.
The Whaul sisters sang renditions of various Guyanese folk songs as children with special needs stood throughout the event waving red and yellow flags as the backdrop for the main stage.
The film industry of Guyana, which has been growing over the past few years, was also well represented at CARIFESTA XI, as Guyana entered a total of 12 films into the film festival, which saw the screening of films and documentaries as well as the hosting of several workshops in Paramaribo, Suriname.
The 12 films which were entered by Guyana were: To the night, You are not alone, Luck beat handsome, Hope, Three cards, Tradition, The Encounter, Beached, The Bottle, The Backyard, Look in ah different way, and Flambeau.
These films were directed by Guyanese Errol Brewster, Margaret Lawrence, Kojo Mc Pherson, Errol Ross and Bonny Alves.
This film festival featured entries from participating Caribbean countries as well as from Chile, Indonesia and the Netherlands; and Guyana’s film coordinator for the festival, Richard Pitman, said the majority of the films which were entered by the country were Cine Guyana films which were produced under the President’s Film Endowment Project 2011.
Workshops held as part of the film festival included animation workshops and those on topics such as the history of film making and the challenges that film makers face in the region, how to make Caribbean and Latin American films, and also how to produce films with a very low budget.
The National Steel Orchestra of Guyana also made the country proud as they performed at various events, and even partook in a steel pan challenge against the Antigua and Barbuda National Youth Orchestra.
The Guyanese played music from Europe, the United States, the Caribbean and Guyana, including a medley of Guyanese folk songs, African songs, calypso and chutney pieces and jazz; and ended their wide repertoire with the National Anthem of Guyana.
The more than 17 members of the orchestra were filled with energy and bursting with excitement as they performed to a more than pleased crowd of persons, who swayed to the sounds of the beautiful steel pan music as both Guyanese and non-Guyanese waved the Golden Arrowhead, Guyana’s national flag.
The Deaf Association of Guyana participated in CARIFESTA XI for the first time, allowing approximately 18 children from three districts in Guyana to be given international exposure and opportunity to meet persons with whom they share the same special needs at various workshops and social engagements.
Additionally, as a part of the Deaf Theatre of the Deaf Association of Guyana, these children delivered a performance of a production entitled “Deaf Expressions” at the On Stage Theatre in Paramaribo, Suriname.
These children, who originate from the David Rose Secondary School as well as the New Amsterdam and Diamond Special School, delivered dance performances, played the drums, and even performed an African dance to the beat of the drums — which they could not even hear — to the amazement of members of the audience.
The Deaf theatre, which falls under the umbrella of the Deaf Association of Guyana, has been doing productions in Guyana for the last four years.
It would be remiss not to note that, for the duration of the festival, regional and national artistes such as Donny Mc Clurkin and Wyclef Jean graced the stage with unforgettable performances.
CARIFESTA XI came to a close in similar fashion as it had begun, with a grand closing ceremony which saw the venue being filled to capacity with persons eager to get a peak at the cultural performances of participating countries such as Guyana, Suriname, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica.
With a segment called “We are doing it together”, the various participating countries pooled their talent in collaborative performances in areas such as singing, dancing and artistic expressions.
There were also performances from the police and military bands from Suriname, with renditions of Bob Marley songs such as “One love” and “I wanna love you”, and highlights from the festival were shown on two screens on either side of the main stage.
Suriname’s President, His Excellency Desiré Bouterse, in his remarks, boldly declared: “We are connected, we are one”, adding that Suriname concludes CARIFESTA XI with great pride, and it is moments like those which make him proud to be the president of the host country.
The 12th edition of CARIFESTA will be hosted in Haiti in 2015, and for the first time in the history of the festival, the responsibility of organising and hosting the festival was transferred from the hands of one CARICOM president to those of another.
Receiving the baton, Haitian President Michel Martelly took the opportunity to congratulate President Bouterse and all the people of Suriname for all the work they had done to successfully host CARIFESTA XI.
He assured that there is space in Haiti for everyone for the next CARIFESTA, and even jokingly said that if there is not enough space, the people of Haiti would leave their country to provide that space.
Host country Suriname is well known for its rich cultural diversity and heritage, as reflected in its various ethnic groups, religions, languages, traditions, dress, and exotic and delightful cuisine.
The Government and people of Suriname should be commended for the successful hosting of this single largest cultural event in the Caribbean region, as the warm hospitality of the Surinamese people and the organisation of the festival enabled CARIFESTA XI to indeed be an unforgettable event.