FAM Fest assumes promising start
GUYANA’S inaugural Food, Arts and Music (FAM) Festival got off to a promising start yesterday, with participants working hard to live up to the hype of the event. International reggae star, Damian ‘Jr. Gong’ Marley, who was scheduled to perform at last night’s grand reggae event, worked along with his crew yesterday afternoon to make sure instruments and performers were in tip top shape.
As this was going on, a walk round the stadium showed many booth holders still in preparation mode. Some early birds had, however, already got their displays set up and were just relaxing, waiting for the show to get off the ground.
The grand cultural event, which will continue throughout today, is part of the nation’s 46th Independence Anniversary celebrations, and is coordinated by Guyenterprise, in partnership with the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport and the Ministry of Tourism, which together realized the need for a national event similar to those held in other Caribbean countries to promote tourism and attract people from around the world to Guyana.
In their overview of FAM fest, Guyenterprise states that their vision is to create an event that provides a platform to showcase Guyana to a broad cross section of visitors, and encourage Guyanese overseas to return home and join in Independence celebrations every year.
Guyenterprise said the event, which was put together after researching successful festivals around the Caribbean, is expected to grow every year and benefit Guyana’s economy. This festival will be the fourth event in a series of successful, family-oriented events produced by Guyenterprise, in collaboration with corporate partners.
The event, scheduled for the Guyana National Stadium, is expected to educate and entertain an expected audience of between 15,000 and 25,000 persons. There will be cultural mini villages depicting clothing, food, music and craft of Guyana’s six races.
As had happened yesterday, today’s proceedings will end with a music concert featuring many live acts, including major international artistes.
Guyana FAM Festival will commence from 14:00hrs today and end at approximately midnight.
The themes for today will highlight Calypso during the day, with Soca/Chutney at night, featuring Rikki Jai, D Hitman, Sally Sagram, Adrian Dutchin, Jomo, Shelly G, Fiona, Priya and King Shepherd, as well as Indian and Chinese cultural presentations.