ONCE a low-key affair for many years in Saint Lucia, last Tuesday’s Emancipation Day (August 1) celebrations, just like last year’s, seems to be gaining in popularity with Saint Lucians, as noted by the turnout last year and this year.
It all started with an early morning Drum and Dance parade at the Vigie Roundabout, followed by more celebrations at the Castries Waterfront that included calypsonians, poets, dancers, stilt walkers, speeches by government ministers and more (and later a Freedom Day Concert in Vieux Fort).
Minister for Culture Dr. Ernest Hilaire noted that two years ago, “the prime minister just having been elected delivered his first address to recognize Emancipation Day. He stated then that (moving forward) he did not want us to celebrate Emancipation Day the way we have done in the past.”
“He said it meant a lot more than what we as a country, as a society was presenting as Emancipation Day. He explained the significance… to us as a people and as a society and said from henceforth we must do better and we must raise the prestige and the profile that we have given to celebrating this most important day in our history.
Last year for the first time we held a celebration of Emancipation like never before,” Hilaire said.
Initially, he added, “we thought of doing just one day but it evolved to an entire month of celebration and there are a number of stakeholders who made that happen beyond all our expectations.
They came forth and they contributed to our observance of Emancipation Day and I must say a very special thank you to the Folk Research Center, the Rastafarian community, many of the community groups throughout Saint Lucia; the cultural groups, the Reparations Committee, all those stakeholders who came to the table when we called them and said it had to be more than just a day.”
Part of the day’s celebrations also included a Breadfruit and Breadnut Festival. The event which was held at the Holy Trinity Anglican Church attracted a number of visitors, and featured an array of homegrown products, live entertainment and cooking demonstrations.
According to Cecil Charles, one of the coordinators of the event, the festival is “all about developing that consciousness to make people aware of the various ways that breadfruit and breadnut can be used.”
One of the most productive food crops on earth, breadfruit originated in the South Pacific in the region spanning modern-day Malaysia, Indonesia and New Guinea, ‘Patagonia Provisions’ noted in an article published online.
At the festival, foods like breadfruit pizza, breadfruit and saltfish, breadfruit chips, breadfruit and breadnut ice cream were all served.
Other products (including those made out of ginger and pineapple) were highlighted as well.
“We made sure… we gave a good account of ourselves in terms of what we intended to do. The objectives were met, (there was) a great crowd response (and) it (was) basically one where people (were) actually indicating (that we should) have more of those kinds of educational festivals,” Charles told THE VOICE in an interview.
“Chatanye, (breadnut), not in abundance as the breadfruit… was one of the first products that went out. The chatanye was produced in many ways—through wines, muffins, the frying of it in terms of the accras and so on. We are happy that we were able to achieve our objectives and we are very appreciative for all the support we have gotten. The response has been great,” he said, adding that “we complemented it with a level of entertainment where we saw ‘Big People Band’ playing with lead singer Ti Caroo who we all know in calypso circles.”
“We were graced with the presence of Jimmy Heavens one of the old-time greats (in) Saint Lucia. We also had Marilyn “Lady Lean” Baptiste and Alpha, and what we saw (was) a very mature crowd blending with youth. That activity actually showed that there is room for activities like this. All in all, it was a really festive occasion and we are looking forward to the next one,” Charles said.
According to him, the church is “building on what we saw” (last year) and is “trying to incorporate a lot of other things into the event.”
Charles said overall, he was pleased with the outcome, adding that the church was able to deliver what it promised.
He also said that vendors had to “replenish… because people were just coming in… the nice thing about it was people came straight from the (Drum and Dance Ritual) which was on the waterfront, and that ended at 10:00 a.m. so persons just walked up the hill and they really enjoyed themselves.”