MINISTER of Tourism (Ag.) Mr. Irfaan Ali yesterday announced that Hazelle Rogers, a member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 95th District in the United States, will be leading the Florida delegation attending the inaugural Guyana Festival. 

Speaking to the Guyana Chronicle at a brief ceremony at his Housing Ministry Office, Minister Ali related that Hazelle Rogers is a democratic member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 95th District, which includes North Lauderdale, Lauderdale Lake and Lauderhill in Northern Broward County. Also during the ceremony, Rajendra Maye, owner of R. Maye Hardware Guyana Inc., showed his support for the Guyana

Festival through a formal donation of $1.2M. Maye mentioned that the company is not only here in Guyana to ‘make money, but to also aid in the development of the country”.
He notes also that his company is very supportive of the Guyana festival and is thrilled to be part of this inaugural event.

Minister Ali expressed his gratitude to the company and indicated that it shows that even though the parent company is based in Trinidad and Tobago, it understands that it has a responsibility to the Guyanese market.
“R. Maye Hardware has been very supportive of initiatives that seek to develop and advance Guyana,” he said.

Several high ranking players have confirmed their participation in the Guyana Festival cricket match, between the Master’s Team and President’s XI, to be played at the National Stadium, Providence on August 9th, 2014, from 16:00hrs.

Players joining the teams include Derek Kallicharran, former first class cricketer and his brother Alvin Kallicharran former West Indian batsman, Faoud Bacchus, Mahendra Nagamootoo, Travis Dowlin, Neil McGarrell, Clive Butts and West Indies cricket player, Clayton Lambert. This event will be held on the second day of the Festival, which will run from August 8-10th; other activities planned for that day include a football match.
The Guyana Festival covers three days and will feature our most celebrated legends in sports, culture, art, music, food, entertainment and much more. Day one will feature an airshow and national concert, day two the audience will experience the night of the legends, and day three will feature a national cook-off with food from every culture, followed by the Generation Next concert.

(By Rebecca Ganesh-Ally)