AMIDST Guyana’s 50th Golden Jubilee Independence celebrations countrywide, residents of Stanleytown, West Bank Demerara and neighbouring villages came together Sunday with the La Retraite/Stanleytown Development Group to host their annual Cultural Explosion and Flag Raising Ceremony on Stanleytown Public Road.

The ceremony saw hundreds of residents turning out to view the cultural programme, which included poems, national and folk songs and dances.

The ceremony began with a march by over 80 Master Guides, who represented the Feceson and Numinous Districts. The youths in the community, along with students of La Retraite Primary School, Genesis Early Childhood and the River Side Angel dancers among others then entertained the audience by dancing to popular local songs.

The Mighty Rebel also graced the stage to belt out a few catchy calypsos, while the Region Three Teachers’ Choir did a song they composed specially for the Independence celebration. The programme also had stints of ballroom dancing and karate displays.

Meanwhile, political activist and university professor, Dr. David Hinds in a brief address told the villagers that “Independence is not for a moment, it is a process and it continues all the time and for the past fifty years we have faced a lot of changes and we have survived.”

The Golden Arrowhead was raised just after 22:00 hrs by Master Guide Jhameel Duncan with assistance from Tenesha and Nayasha Washington of the Stanleytown Seventh Day Adventist Church.