LINDENERS on Sunday observed a moment of silence in honour of the late Norman Chapman- the owner of the ill-fated ‘Son Chapman’ launch that was blown up in 1964 at Horadia, a timber grant settlement some 18 miles up the Demerara River. Mr Chapman died last week.

The occasion was the opening of the annual Linden Town Week- a 10-day activity in celebration of the township’s 47th Anniversary. Held at Republic Avenue, the opening

ceremony attracted hundreds of residents and visitors. The official opening saw a large delegation of dignitaries, including Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General, Basil Williams; Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin and his wife Han Gaskin; Members of Parliament: Jermaine Figueira and Audwin Rutherford; Mayors of Bartica, Georgetown and Rose Hall: Gifford Marshall, Patricia Chase-Green and Vijay Ramo respectively, Mayor of Linden, Carwyn Holland; Regional Chairman, Renis Morian and other regional officials.

Great things in store
Williams in his address told Lindeners that great things are in store for the town. Alluding to the theme: “Reflect, refocus, moving forward with unity and strength for our community development”, Williams said that each aspect is needed for the town to develop. “The theme embodies the aspirations of a town committed to development by being willing to evolve to the changing time. It speaks to people’s willingness to persevere against all odds, this is a town I have seen struggled but yet you rise,” Williams said.

Speaking on reflecting and refocusing, the Attorney General said that both are paramount and critical, but should be done thoughtfully. “It is refocusing that will cause you to change

direction, forge a new path to better execute those plans, refocusing will better enable you to utilise resources to ensure the development of Linden…unity is pivotal to achieving goals…. It is through unity that we achieve nation-building and with unity there is strength.”

Williams reminded Lindeners of the many things to celebrate such as the infrastructural developments that occurred in 2016-2017, such as the construction and rehabilitation of roads, bridges and public facilities. Linden he said is poised to become the second administrative town in Guyana and the gateway to South America.

Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin, for his part wished the town well, noting that the Linden Town Week is a signature event that has landed its way on the national calendar as a tourism event and therefore will garner support from his Ministry in this regard. Gaskin said that Linden is an ambitious town and this ambition has been manifested in the recent athletic success and will continue to see support from central government not only during town week but continuously.

Mayors Green, Marshall and Ramo all brought greetings from their towns and wished Linden well for its 47th Anniversary. The Mayors in their short addresses stressed that unity is the key for community development and encouraged Lindeners to unite and support their elected representatives. “There is a cry for unity, not only for Linden, but for the entire nation….it is you, me and all of us, who have to make this country a better place, who has to make this change,” Mayor Patricia Chase-Green urged, while Mayor Gifford Marshall posited, “Reflect and refocus, do not take your 47 years for granted, Linden needs to lead Guyana, not only in sports, entertainment and economically,”. Mayor Ramo affirmed that nothing can be achieved in disunity and urged Lindeners to come together for development, especially in its tourism industry.

Mayor Holland, who also urged Lindeners to use this opportunity to unite for development, said that the greatest obstacle to development is our mind-set and there are some persons not willing to change this, thus stymieing progress in Linden. “They are those who lack the will for our development or are unwilling even to see all-inclusive development in Linden, I refuse to let hurdles set up by those who want Linden to be underdeveloped deter me from pushing for our progress,” Holland said, while saying agents are advocating for the status-quo of the previous administration to be maintained.

Despite these distractions, Holland urged Lindeners to think positively and to work collaboratively to attain the ideal model of development for our people. Lindeners, he said, should hold their leaders accountable, while simultaneously playing an individual role in protecting their community. “My commitment to advance progress in Linden is unshaken despite the challenges, in fact challenges only make us stronger….it is time for personality-clashes to take a back seat on this coalition train, it is time we disallow satanic forces from stealing our joy, killing our hopes and destroying our future,” Holland said.

Pastor Selwyn Sills, who also addressed the gathering said: “Reflecting gives us a chance to look back; look in as we reflect. I want to look at what we have and what we have achieved as a people, we Linden people are a people of strong inner drive.” Sills said. Lindeners, he said, need to recognise the need to move forward but should do so not only in unity but in oneness. “I know for sure that in unity and strength we can make it…I want you to understand that we are a gifted people but as we use the gifting we have, we can make things happen.” “I want to tell you, that we are not depressed as some people say, we are a very powerful people, start seeing Linden as God sees Linden…Linden is a special place.” As the crowd jumped and clapped in agreement to Sill’s message he urged them to have a paradigm shift and development will come.

Colourful show
Meanwhile, the display of iridescent colours worn by dancers, drummers, marchers and other cultural performers was the spectacle of the day and set the stage for the show before the ceremonial session even commenced. Coupled with this, was the several cultural performances and dramatic pieces performed by young Lindeners, including reigning Calypso Queen, Dianna Chapman.

The atmosphere was nothing short of celebratory, as Lindeners used the evening to celebrate the recent victories of the two young athletes, Chantoba Bright and Compton Caesar, who brought home two medals, including gold from the CARIFTA games. Mr. Winston Caesar, Chairman of Vybz Entertainment, the Linden Town Week Franchise Holder, expressed appreciation to the Linden Mayor and Town Council for giving the group of young innovative thinkers the opportunity to hosts the event for the past three years and has brought improvement to its overall execution. Despite that Vybz’s contractual tenure is at its end, Caesar said that would not be the end of Linden Town Week (LTW).

“Linden Town Week will be continuing to show improvement in the socio-economic activities in the town of Linden….we would like to say thank you to the Mayor and Town Council for giving us this opportunity to be able to be a part of this mega event with the kind of experience we have gotten,” Caesar said.

Some of the activities being offered are: The coveted Big and Bold Pageant, the Wismar Big Lime and the Vybz Regional All Black, set for April 26, 28 and 30, respectively. This year, Vybz will be collaborating with the Region 10 Tourism Development Association to hosts river tours along Linden’s heritage trail. Other activities include a Gospel Concert on April 24, Open Stage and DJs Night on the April 25, and a “Day of Sports” on April 26. The Bikers Fete and Colour Party are slated for April 28. The feting continues on April 29 with the “Soca Fete”. The 10-day activities will culminate with a “Wash-Down” party on May 1.