THE ANNUAL Guyana/Brazil cultural festival, an event initiated by the Rupununi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) last year, is to be held in Bonfim, Brazil on August 5 and 6th next.
The festival is aimed at fostering cultural integration between Guyanese and Brazilians, particularly those living in the border areas of Lethem and Bonfim, and the venue is the Bonfim rodeo ground, some three kilometers away from the Guyana/Brazil border at Lethem.
The first Guyana/Brazil Cultural festival was held at Lethem on the Guyana side of the border last July month-end.
The second festival is being held on the Brazilian side of the border this year, in keeping with an agreement by the joint commission comprising both Guyanese and Brazilians to rotate the venue every year.
The 2012 Cultural Festival will accordingly be held in Guyana.
According to RCCI president, Alfred Ramsarran, preparations for the Bonfim festival at preparatory committee level are proceeding on schedule.
Planning and arrangements for the event are being coordinated by a Bonfim/Lethem Commission of residents and officials from both border settlements.
The RCCI is also  receiving the support of the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sports in the identification and preparation of Guyanese artistes for the Bonfim show.
The first show last year was held on July 30 and 31 at the Lethem Rodeo Ground, with Guyanese artistes taking the stage the first night, and the Brazilians on the second night.
There were stalls aplenty from both border towns exhibiting food and other products produced in the two border communities.
At the end of the two-night extravaganza, a queen was chosen from both sides. Both met on stage and shook hands, symbolizing the integration of the two nations.
Besides promising that the Bonfim show will be bigger than the one in Lethem last yaer, Ramsarran gave the assurance that the Guyana/Brazil border will be open to traffic, and that Guyanese visitors will have unimpeded ingress and egress to Bonfim to see the grand cultural spectacle.
He said that more details on the event will be released as the date draws closer.