– Kes, Patrice Roberts, Skeng, CKush, Shaneil Muir part of performance lineup

THE ‘Genesis X Utopia’ events, expected to take place from May 25 to 29, were, on Wednesday, officially launched.

At the corporate launch ceremony, held at the Herdmanston Lodge, Georgetown, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Hits and Jams Entertainment, Rawle Ferguson, said they came up with the concept of carnival with the intention of bringing people and cultures together.

To this end, he said that subsequent to meeting with President, Dr Irfaan Ali, the Hits and Jams team was made aware of the economic benefits of carnival, and the festival here.

With this in mind, the Guyana Carnival was married to the upcoming Caribbean Premier League (CPL) tournament.

The events, set for next week, are a precursor for the Cricket Carnival events slated for the final quarter of this year.

Kerwin Bollers, Director of Hits and Jams, told those gathered at the launch that the entertainment company was excited to host live events once again after being under social gathering restrictions for some two years.

He said that without crowd limits, full-fledged live concerts and shows can now be held.

The team, he continued, has put together six exciting events spread across five days. These events range from drinks-inclusive concerts, parties, ‘jouverts’, brunches, and more.

Some of the events include the Touchdown Cooler fete to kick start the list of events, the El Dorado Stinging Nettles concert, ‘Baderation’ stage show, and ‘Stink X Dutty Jouvert’.

Local artistes Gully Ras, cKush, Drew Thoven, Vanilla, Vicadi, Tony Cuttz, Heatwave and Fame bands will also be featured.

For regional and international Artistes, Kes the Band will headline Stinging Nettles, Patrice Roberts is slated to lead on the Touchdown cooler fete, and Dancehall artiste, Skeng, is to headline the ‘Baderation’ stage show.

“We want Guyana to come out have a good time. It’s gonna (sic) be nice clean entertainment, great fun… We know that we’ve been in (sic) for a long time; we’ve been coming out piece by piece; but we’ll be coming out in full fledge come the 25th to the 29th,” Bollers said.

Meanwhile, giving remarks at the launch was Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr., who iterated that Guyana is a unique country and these events form a new direction that the Government of Guyana has established as part of the vision of creating the premier destination in the region.

Minister Ramson said: “This event is one of the events that will form a new direction that the Government of Guyana has established as part of an overall vision of where we go of creating this premiere destination in the region for world class events.”

Ramson said it was an important decision for Guyana to make as it relates to securing the CPL Finals and Semifinals, and further pair it with Carnival to create the “Cricket Carnival” brand.
Minister Ramson, who holds responsibility for youth, said as the country evolves, what must be understood is that life is meant to be enjoyed and citizens must be able to enjoy prosperity and success.

Meanwhile, Director (ag.) of the Guyana Tourism Authority, Kamrul Baksh, commended the organisers of the Genesis X Utopia events, underscoring that this particular event will kickstart the journey towards the cricket carnival. Baksh expressed the GTA’s full support.

The Genesis X Utopia lineup of events will begin on May 25 with the Touchdown Cooler Fete, and lead into the Stinging Nettles concert on May 26, Baderation stage show on May 27, and then two events for May 28, the Toga Party and ‘Stink X Dutty Jouvert’.

The Soca and Wine event is set for May 29.