Music lovers who have not yet witnessed the magic of the Rupununi Music and Arts Festival will get the chance to do so on March 4 via the Georgetown Connection which will be held at Thirst Park, Georgetown. The event will feature artistes from Barbados, St. Vincent and the United Kingdom who will join forces with artistes from Guyana to bring the audience rich performances in the form of music, dance, spoken word and comedy. The promoters of the festival have said that ‘The Georgetown Connection’ promises to be an exciting entertainment event with food and fun for the entire family.

The Mighty Gabby, Barbados’ youngest calypso Monarch, and nine time winner of the title, will headline the weekend. His international hits include “The List”, “Jack”, “Boots”, “West Indian Politician” and “Emmerton”. Gabby will be accompanied by international Barbadian writer, theatre director and spoken word artiste, Winston Farrell. The Caribbean spoken word team will also include the well-known academic and spoken word artiste from St. Vincent, Phil Nanton.

Guyana will also provide some of its Best in music, spoken word, comedy and dance. Dave Martin and Friends will spearhead the local team. Dave is known across the Caribbean as the leader and songwriter of the popular Tradewinds band founded in 1966. He was awarded Guyana’s Golden Arrow of Achievement in 1981 for contribution to music. He will be supported by rock band, Feed The Flames along with other artistes such as Collage, Nachgana Academy of Dance, Chuckie & Gavin Mendonca, the Surama Cultural Group and many others. International Guyanese flautist Keith Waithe will also make a special appearance at the event.

The event will make way for art and craft displays, book sales, games and inter-active activities. A special feature of the Georgetown Connection will be a “Talk Tent” where persons will get to interact with some of the artistes and learn about their artistic journey and process.

“Including Georgetown in the Rupununi Music and Arts Festival has been integral to the festival’s strategic plan since inception,” Festival Director, Dr. Bob Ramdhanie said “So this is simply the first of many events to be staged annually in Georgetown. The Georgetown Connection will provide a slice of what you can expect in August this year in the Rupununi.”

The Rupununi Music and Arts Festival is a world-music, camping based festival which began in 2013 at Rock View, Annai and will this year, be held at the Manari Ranch, Region Nine from August 18-20. The long-term plans for the festival involves the creation of a vibrant Festival Village in the Rupununi, offering a range of educational, music and arts related training programmes. Local musician, Gavin Mendonca, who is an active participant in the festival, sees the huge potential that such an event can bring to Guyana. “The festival in the Rupununi is a real opportunity for Guyanese people to appreciate the beautiful country that Guyana is, and to do so while listening to great music is an added experience,” he said.

The festival, including the Georgetown Connection event, is a collaborative effort among Government, the private sector and NGOs. Sponsors include Banks DIH Ltd, Rent-a-Tent, Giftland Mall, Republic Bank, Cara Lodge, Silverbait Design Inc., Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA), Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG), Air Services Ltd (ASL), NAMILCO Inc., Trans Guyana Airways (TGA) and others.