AS National Library week is celebrated this year from April 19- 25, libraries island wide are highlighted and celebrated for their fundamental contributions to society as they continue to strive to serve members of the community and to also keep the youth positively engaged.
It is on this note that as the libararian for The Marchand Library, I decided to host the first ever Easter Arts Fiesta at the Human Resource Centre in Entrepot, where the library is located.
The activity on April 14 and 15, was organized to simply give the youth in the community in particular, a positive programme to participate in during their Easter vacation. In the mornings, there was a poetry, song and spoken word segment, where local performers and artistes showcased their talent by singing and reciting poetry and spoken word pieces that they had written. Members of the audience could be seen interacting with poets like Jaireh Lawrence, Black Crayon, Rochelle Calderon, RadelleLeonce, Kerr “Drago” Glasgow, KallifJn Louis and AkilDevaux and dancing along to music from a local band called Poetry Central.
A number of soulful melodies were also sung by singers/poets known as Soya Selassi and Empress I. The poets also delivered riveting pieces that bridged the gap between audience and artiste through their lyrical lines. Band member of Poetry Central and master of ceremonies for the fiesta, Terrick King, also shared some of his poetry. Travis Weekes, a veteran in the arts field and two members of the writer’s forum- KengsleyCharlemange and Magregor Emmanuel-also participated in the festivities and offered advice to young poets who wished to have their work critiqued.
The afternoon segment consisted of a craft making session. This was conducted by Eva Williams, an avid volunteer and also a teacher at the Vide Bouteille Primary School. It was a delight to see youngsters from the community seen making different items like the flapping bird as well as painting and drawing.
One of the objectives of the event was to also stir the interest of the youth so that they may develop a love for reading and this was definitely achieved. Before the fiesta came to an end, many of the children who participated in the arts and craft activity were eager to join the library and spent some time engrossed in the collection of books. In addition, the audience seemed to enjoy the proceedings immensely and have already been requesting a summer programme.
I am grateful to the all those who participated in this activity as a performer or artiste and all those who supported this initiative within their capacity; and I am particulary thankful to the sponsors, Duboulay’s Bottling Company and Amurbroise Company Limited. Through their donations I was able to keep all the participants satisfied throughout the activity.
By Oliviann Weekes