Indigenous village all set for Heritage Month activities
GINA, GUYANA, Wednesday, August 31, 2016
All is set for the hosting of activities for Indigenous Heritage Month which begins on September 1, 2016 at the Heritage Village located at the Sophia Exhibition Complex, Georgetown.
The inside of the main building painted and ready for Heritage activities at the Heritage village at the Sophia Exhibition complex compound, Georgetown
The Government Information Agency (GINA) visited the site today, for a glimpse of the preparations for the launch of the month-long celebrations.
During the visit, it was visible that all major works were completed. These included the digging of the drains, painting of the fence, manicuring the surroundings, and painting of the floor of the main building.
Minister within the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Valerie Garrido-Lowe in an interview with GINA said that everything will be ready for the big day tomorrow.
For this year’s celebrations, 11 groups will be coming from various indigenous communities to display their culture as part of the Heritage celebrations. However, the Minister said that she and Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Sydney Allicock want the focus to be on the standard of the cultural displays, “Quality of costumes, quality of the presentations, be it drama or songs or poetry, whatever. We have been stressing that the quality is up so persons from the different villages have been working towards that.”
A worker adding some finishing touches on the surroundings of the Heritage village at the Sophia Exhibition complex compound, Georgetown
Additionally, for Heritage Month in 2017, there will be a new initiative added to the activities to encourage pride and quality in presentation. The Minister disclosed that the Ministry is looking to give out incentives to the villages that portray high standard in their costumes and performance.
Minister Garrido -Lowe is inviting all Guyanese to visit the Heritage Village and be a part of the activities in celebration of the descendants of Guyana’s first peoples.
The Heritage Month activities will commence today, August 31, 2016 with an Inter-Faith Service, followed by the official launch tomorrow.
During the celebrations, Guyanese will be able to experience indigenous culture through their food, craft, cultural extravaganza -with performances from notable indigenous groups, and song and dance.