Blackman wants Holetown festivities promoted in multiple languages

A call has been made for the Holetown Festival to be documented and promoted across the world in multiple languages, positioning Barbados’ heritage on the global stage.

Delivering the feature address at the annual festival’s opening ceremony at the Holetown Monument in St James yesterday evening, just reelected Member of Parliament for St James North Chad Blackman urged the organising committee to leverage technology to preserve and share the festival’s nearly five-decade legacy.

“We have to tell this story across the region, we have to tell this story across the world, we have to promote this story of the festival, not just in English, but pivoting also in French, in Spanish, in Chinese, in German, in Arabic, so that the story of Barbados is not just constrained by English, but therefore it’s limitless with respect to where it can go because of the power of language,” he told those gathered.

He encouraged the committee to document and capture the voices of founding members and longstanding participants for future generations.

“Perhaps you may even want to consider speaking to some of the persons who would have started the festival, and who have been intimately involved, capturing that into podcasts and videos, and allowing for young people and older persons to be able to tell not just the story of the Holetown Festival, but the importance of this festival to Barbados,” he said.

The 49th edition of the festival, under the theme Holetown Ignites 60: Honouring Our Past; Celebrating Our Future, is paying homage to Barbados’ 60th year of Independence in November. The weeklong celebration, which will run until February 22, kicks off the festival season in Barbados.

Blackman also challenged Barbadians to transform cultural expression from ceremonial occasions into everyday practice and sustainable income.

“I want to see a Barbados where I can go anywhere in Barbados and see young people playing a tuk band, not only in a festival like this or in a moment where there’s an organised event. Our culture must be a day-to-day lived reality, and that way you build on top of what we have, and therefore the cultural expression becomes not just a living reality, but an income earner outside of these structures,” he stated.

The evening began with traditional pageantry as a herald’s “Hear ye, hear ye” signalled the start of a colourful parade from the Holetown Methodist Church to the monument. The lord and lady, resplendent in Victorian-era attire, led the procession followed by cultural groups, including the Barbados Landship Association and the Haynesville Youth Club, complete with tuk band and mother sallies.

The ceremony featured a rich tapestry of performances. Calypsonian Donella paid tribute to Sister Marshall with renditions of Marching On and Walk Holy, while Kofi Gilkes delivered spouge on saxophone.

The evening concluded with a soca segment featuring Niara’s We Love It, reigning Pic O De Crop monarch Mr Blood performing his winning calypso Don’t Wait before being joined by Mikey for Heart Of The Party, and festival ambassador Hypasounds bringing down the curtain with a number of his hits.

(DDS)

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