THE Folk Research Centre (FRC) has a rich cultural list of activities to be presented during what’s left of the 2018 Arts and Creole Heritage month, which was launched in Choiseul.
According to FRC’s Executive Director Hilary La Force, “We had a Craft Festival, following which we went to Belle Vue, where we honored Ramon Poleon.
“In the coming days, there will be the ‘La Wen Creole’ (‘The Creole Queen’) Show at the National Cultural Centre.
The FRC train will later move into the community of Patience in Mon Repos for the Violin Festival — and while in that community, will take the opportunity to launch a Folk Museum in the name of deceased Sessene Descartes.
La Force said, “Where Sessene lived before her passing was given to her by the Government of Saint Lucia. She was given free water, electricity and telephone and the agreement was, after she passes on, the facility would be turned into a Museum”.
Then comes the big day, Jounen Kweyol, slated for Sunday 28th October, where hundreds of Saint Lucians — and visitors alike — will converge on the towns of Vieux Fort in the south and Soufriere in the west.
La Force said, “In Vieux Fort, we will be bringing lots of different agencies such as: the Ministry of Agriculture, the Department of Fisheries, the Department of Forestry, SEDU, the Saint Lucia National Trust and the Archaeological Society.
“The above-mentioned agencies will be coming all-out to display whatever they do in terms of our heritage”.
One thing for certain, La Force, is keeping his fingers crossed that Saint Lucians far and near will come out and educate themselves about Saint Lucia’s heritage and culture.
“It’s not only about the vending and the food,” he pointed out.
In terms of the latest on the FRC Headquarters that was destroyed by a mysterious fire earlier this year at Morne Pleasant, La Force said, “We’ve been having lots of consultations.
“We have put together a plan for the short, medium and long term.
“Our short-term plan is to re-establish ourselves; the medium-term one is to be able to start collecting as much material to begin to rebuild our library”.
He continued, “Our main strength is the library and documentation. You have Saint Lucians and visitors from overseas coming to do research on our culture and we have facilitated this for 45 years — and all of it went up in smoke”.
“The long-term plan is to build our new facility at Morne Pleasant.
La Force further explained, “One of the things we want to do is to keep that old structure (ruins) so people will see it as a reminder of what actually happened in March 2018.
“We are hoping to maintain that old structure and build either within or around it”.
The Folk Research Centre was established in 1973. It’s an institution for research, study, recording and promulgating Saint Lucia’s rich cultural heritage.
