AFTER the official opening ceremony of the Inter-Guiana Cultural Festival Thursday evening at the National Cultural Centre, the festival kicked off yesterday with a variety of events. Taking a walk down Main Street, persons were treated to an exhibition of craft from Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. Ranging from sculpture, to clothing and jewellery to pottery, the exhibits showcased the life and culture of the people of the three countries.
Items on exhibit were also available for purchase.
Meanwhile, running concurrently with the craft exhibition, was a literary arts and visual arts exhibition at the International Conference Centre, Liliendaal.
Various art forms were on display at the exhibition, including paintings, photography and sculptures. In addition, there was a film screening of movies from Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana, which will be running daily up until Sunday, August 26.
Keeping up with showcasing the talent of people from the Guianas, there was also a book exhibition at the conference centre which had several books by Guyanese, Surinamese and French Guianese authors on display. These books were also available for purchase.
A favourite of the people visiting the exhibition, however, was a live body art painting done by Bravo Arts. Persons lingered and looked on as a “cultural fusion” theme was being painted on to a young lady, in an effort to showcase the six different races in Guyana.
University of Guyana Lecturer and Coordinator of the University’s Division of Creative Arts, Mr. Philbert Gajadar, who is also Chairperson of the Visual Arts Committee for the Inter-Guiana Cultural Festival, stated that the cultural exchange among these three countries  has in recent times flourished, helping to increase further communication and fostering a better relationship.
Gajadar noted that the arts are important, since they provide a link between the past and the present, aiding in creating stability and coherence. He also believes that the festival was gainful since cultural identity is reinforced if we are open-minded and tolerant towards other people and cultures.
As another part of its scheduled activities, the festival yesterday hosted a culinary workshop at the Carnegie School of Home Economics.
The workshop was conducted by Andrew Torrington who is a certified chef. He explained that this is a unique and innovative higher education programme designed for future leaders in the culinary arts profession.
He related that it is a careful balance of the management and ‘hands-on’ skills required in this challenging field.
This workshop will offer participants a range of managerial skills to run their own businesses and also a high level of practical skills to allow the restaurateur or chef to provide a unique culinary experience to customers.
The two-hour programme was designed to give participants first-hand experience and, at the same time, give them the opportunity to put their theoretical knowledge into practice.
Torrington explained the basics of food preparation and presentation and how simple decorations could make the food sell much faster, an important aspect in any chef/restaurateur’s career.
His aim is for the participants to master some time-honoured culinary techniques, learn about culinary trends, and explore exciting new flavours from some of the “hottest” regions of the world.
A projection presentation was done to display various food arts and to further explain to participants what the workshop was based on.
He stated that even though the workshop may not have gone on as long as to teach the participants everything there is to know, he believes that in this short session, he managed to get the art of fine food preparation and decoration for presentation to the participants.
In addition, the National Library yesterday hosted a reading programme titled the “Reading tent”, on the lawns of its compound on Church and Main Streets, Georgetown.
This literary arts event was held under the theme, “Empowering the nation through Literacy”, and was chaired by Henry Rodney.
Children who are taking part in the National Library’s Annual Champion Readers’ programme, along with any other interested children, were invited to bring along their stories to read, and there were also stories and poems on hand. The children read poems written by Guyanese poets, including Martin Carter, Arthur James Seymour, and Sheik Sadeek, as well as excerpts from Guyanese writer E.R Braithwaite’s novel “To Sir with Love.”
Three members from the Suriname delegation, as well as two members from the French Guiana delegation, also read stories for the children.
Last year’s first and second-placed winners of the  Champion Readers’ programme also took part in the event. There were random readings from numerous children in the audience who were very eager to display their reading skills.
All of the children who read at the event were presented with tokens, including books such as those from Hannah Montana for the girls and Jack Sparrow for the boys.
Today, at 10:00hrs, there will be a repeat of this event, and the main focus will be on story-telling. Persons from the French Guiana and Suriname delegations will also be there telling stories using puppets.