… Packed cultural afternoon programme for Independence eve

THERE will be no midnight flag-raising this year; instead a government-sponsored fireworks display will be conducted at the Stabroek Square. But during the early afternoon of May 25 there will be a packed cultural programme involving schoolchildren before the hoisting of the Golden Arrowhead at D’Urban Park.
This year’s 52nd Independence Anniversary will be celebrated with a host of exciting activities beginning May 19 and leading up to the grand fireworks-moment when the clock strikes midnight.
First on the calendar is an exhibition of the 25 years of the National Gallery of Art which will be opened for viewing from the May 19 to June 16 at Castellani House on Vlissengen Road.
This will be followed by a 5k and 10k Independent track meet May 19-20 at the Leonora Track and Field Stadium which is being organised by the Guyana Overseas-based Sports Association Inc.
In addition to this, on May 20, a Steel Band Jamboree, put on by the National School of Music, will take place at the Seawall Bandstand at 17:00hrs The National Archives of Guyana will present an Independence Exhibition on May 21 at their headquarters while on May 22 a National Song and Poetry Competition will be hosted by the Department of Culture at Umana Yana.
Then on May 23 and 24 the Department will invite citizens to visit Main Street in Georgetown for the set-up of a Visual Art and Craft Market.
On Independence Eve, May 25, the Department will host a cultural programme, parade and flag-raising ceremony beginning at 14:00hrs at the D’Urban Park. Speaking with Minister of Social Cohesion with Responsibility for Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr George Norton, he said that this programme is primarily for schoolchildren.
Apart from those who will attend from Georgetown, schools have been invited from Regions as far as Three, Five and Nine. Travel arrangements and meals will be taken care of.
“It starts at 14:00hrs because it involves schoolchildren. We can get them off the road and back home, as we’re providing transportation and food for them. We want them off the streets within the normal time,” the minister explained.
Later in the day at 22:00hrs, a Flag-raising Concert will be hosted by private entities, separate from the Government, with a number of local artistes performing live.
At midnight, citizens can expect a grand fireworks display, funded by the Government in the place of a Flag-raising ceremony. Minister Norton explained the reason for this format stating: “There’s a policy of the Government to celebrate every five years in a big way as compared to the in-between which would be low-key.
So this year it is going to be primarily for schoolchildren because we don’t have the kind of financing to have every year as big as we would want to make it.”
He added that the country’s 50th Anniversary Golden Jubilee celebration is an example of the most recent grand celebration on the five-year mark.