TWO words I have never used in the same sentence are “Toastmasters” and “fun”; but put a bunch of Toastmasters in a room with great food and music, and (surprisingly) you’ll find they sure know how to enjoy themselves!

This non-profit organization, Toastmasters International, is known mainly for operating clubs worldwide for the purpose of helping members to improve their communication, public speaking and leadership skills.

So it was that I was pleasantly surprised when the six clubs in Guyana (Bank of Royale, Cacique, Georgetown, Gafsons, Macorp and Harpy Eagles) decided to celebrate the month of May (significant for Arrival Day and Independence celebrations) by hosting a “Guyana Night” on the roof of the Bank of Guyana, wherein representatives of all six of Guyana’s races had a chance to strut their stuff, and most persons were dressed as someone from another ethnicity or phenotype for the evening.

It was the order of the night for an Afro-Guyanese to dress as a Portuguese or Chinese, or for an Indo-Guyanese to dress in African, European or Amerindian-styled clothing. Thus, it was perfectly in order when a gentleman, noting my plain black dress, asked who I was representing.

Two pretty young ladies, opting to showcase their Indo-Guyanese culture through the medium of dance, performed separate dances that showed mad skills (as in very talented), and caused many in the gathering to document the event on tape.

Emcee, Jacqueline Blackman added her own spice to the event with her humorous comments. For example, she ‘hailed up’ the Chinese as the last to arrive, and said they are still arriving. “Don’t you just love them? You want Coach, they got Coachella; love Jimmy Choo, they got Jimmy Too!”

Three youths from the African folk ensemble, ‘Majec Fingers’, thrilled with their singing and drumming, but eventually made way for the Unified Youths Tassa Troupe. After the latter’s rousing performance, Jacqueline noted that when an African marries an Indian person, their offspring is called a “Dougla”; as such, she made a request for “some dougla music.”

The youths gladly complied, but the youngest ‘Majec Fingers’ member, eight-year-old Richard Stanton, opted out of this one. The two remaining members  put up a brave front, but being outnumbered by the energetic four-member tassa troupe, they eventually surrendered with a show of both palms.

When the planned part of the programme came to a close, Toastmasters and guests continued the merriment by showing off their Karaoke and dancing skills.

The six clubs are presently conferencing at the Pegasus Hotel, Kingston, in a three-day affair, which began Friday and ends today.

The club grew out of a single entity founded by Ralph C. Smedley on October 22, 1924 at the YMCA in Santa Ana, California, United States of America. Toastmasters International was incorporated under California law on December 19, 1932.

Throughout its history, Toastmasters International has served over four million people, and today serves over 260,000 members in 113 countries through its over-12,800-member clubs.

The Caribbean Territorial Council of Toastmasters was formed on February 15, 2003 at a conference held at the Terra Nova Hotel in Kingston, Jamaica. Fifteen clubs in the Caribbean then consented to be part of that Council, as the first step towards becoming a Caribbean District. Later, seven clubs were added to exceed the minimum of 20 clubs needed to become a district.