MANAGER of Support Services at Republic Bank, Mrs. Celine Davis, yesterday, handed over a cheque to Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony at his Main Street, Georgetown office. It was a donation towards the Panorama Steelband Competition, which starts at 15:00 hrs on Sunday, February 19, with sponsorship from the Bank.
Noting that the contest has attracted far more participation than last year and preparations for the event has been going well, so far, Anthony stated that he is looking forward to a more successful rivalry, this year, amongst the participating contestants.
He said proceeds from the competitions held last year, at the Sports Hall, were used to purchase two steelbands for a school in Albouystown and another in Bartica.
Anthony said that was done so that the students could use the instruments to learn an extracurricular activity that would be of great benefit to the art form of Guyana.
He committed to using more money to buy more steel pans for schools across Guyana.
Minister Anthony emphasised on his belief that more schools countrywide should get involved in such worthy activities and he expressed gratitude to Republic Bank for its generosity.
From now, it is full steam ahead to all the upcoming Mashramani events, he said, adding that approximately 31 bands have already registered for the February 23 parade.
He said, even though some of the application forms have not been collected and submitted, the intended applicants are making preparations to get involved and, usually, the submissions are done past the deadline.
The minister said he is very confident about this year’s Mashramani, with the number of activities and overwhelming participation indicated.
The events yet to be completed are the Children’s Float Parade, the Panorama Steel Pan Competition and the Calypso Finale.
The minister disclosed that there will be various workshops to celebrate and uphold the culture of Guyanese people, one being intangible heritage, a programme designed for those individuals who are into culture. That workshop will be supervised and conducted by reputable members of the public, such as Mr. Chris Persaud of Trinidad and Tobago and Dr. John Rickford and Dr. Vibert Cambridge, both of whom are overseas-based Guyanese.