THE Ministry of Tourism and the Guyana Tourism Authority have come in for lots of praise from the exhibitors as well as patrons who said the inaugural Guyana Festival was well planned and executed as the second day of the event concluded Saturday. 

The National Stadium was transformed into a massive cultural village, offering visitors the opportunity to enjoy local foods, celebrate the rich heritage that exists in the country, and pay homage to Guyanese celebrities and indulge in the rhythms of Guyanese music. The event was dubbed everything Guyanese and it was noted that they came out in their numbers to support their own. Families flocked the Coney Island to have their children sample some of the rides on offer.
Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle, parents congratulated the organisers on a job well done in putting such a unique festival together, and giving them the opportunity to have a family outing. A returning Guyanese, who wished not to be named, said that she was happy to see how creative her Guyanese people were and was quite excited by the folklore that is still very much alive.
Anil, only name given, explained that the initiative is a good one, since our youths need to know about our heritage and culture and he also commended the Minister of Tourism for making the event a family-oriented one since there are limits on what a family can do together in Guyana.

Many persons also turned out to witness the exciting competition between the Master’s team against the President’s XI, and the spectators were entertained as Guyana’s past and present ‘greats’ in the cricketing fraternity met on the pitch.

However, the President’s XI were too strong for the Master’s X1 and Minister of Tourism (ag) Irfaan Ali congratulated both sides for the wonderful show they put on.

He said he is “proud to have such legends and upcoming stars in my midst and because of your performances here today you have assisted us the organisers in making the Guyana Festival a success story.”

LEGENDS IN CONCERT
The “Night of Legends” concert saw renowned Guyanese artistes such as Dave Martins, Sammy Baksh, Terry Gajraj Yoruba Singers, Mighty Rebel, and Sash Persaud among those performing. And persons could be overheard exclaiming that the coordination and execution of each performance was done so smoothly. Browsing the crowd, some of the patrons, who were more on the senior side, enjoyed the performances and expressed hopes that this can be an annual event.

The Guyana Festival continued yesterday with the two headlining events, namely, the Festival Cook-Out and the Generation Next Concert. Among the energetic artistes that performed include Lisa Punch, Jumo “Rubber Waist” Primo, Melissa “Vanilla” Roberts, First Born, Big Red, Rajesh Dubraj, Alabama, Adrian Dutchin, and Kwasie Edmonson.
Written By Rebecca Ganesh-Ally