| Emancipation at Hopetown |
| Saturday, 31 July 2010 | |
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Thousands of Guyanese from across the country are expected to throng the West Berbice village of Hope Town for the Traditional annual Soiree which is by far the biggest event of its kind held in Guyana. A number of Soirees are held in various parts of the country, but the Hopetown engagement is by far the biggest and arguably one of the largest gatherings of people for any engagement in Guyana. According to the organisers of the event, the Soiree started a very long time ago. It started with the newly freed slaves and became an annual event. It is still being held in many villages bought by the Africans after they gained their freedom. The event is held the night before Freedom Day. It starts just before midnight and will continue until dawn the next day. At the various venues a number of cultural activities and stage show are held including African pageantry, African drumming, folk songs and dancing, skits, poems, story telling among other activities. Folk and ring games are also part of the night’s activities. Saal pass, hop scotch, Bun House, Drop it Peter boy, and Hide and Seek will be there on display. The usual African foods will be in abundance.Cook Up; Metem Gee with fried fish or and salt fish with other delicacies, Quenches, Conkey and Cassava Pone, Calaloo dove down with coconut milk and Fu Fu will all be there for sale and for free distribution. Hopetown is known for its traditional African drumming and the drummers will once again be leading the celebrations along with the popular Shack, Shack and Flute. A popular dance during the celebrations is the Square Dance, where four persons will form themselves into groups and dance around to the beat of the African Drums and the flute. Activities are slated for the Falcon Crest, the Hopetown community centre, the former Hopetown Community High School and about six other venues in the village. According to the organisers most of the activities are free of charge, and whatever funds are realized will be used by the groups to help in the enhancement of the African culture in the area. Some will be given to schools, to the elderly and to charitable organizations. The popular Yoruba Singers String band is as usual a part of the atmosphere. A number of dignitaries are expected to grace the community to participate and deliver speeches.. Hopetown village was among the first set of villages bought by the Africans just after the abolition of slavery in 1834. They named the village Hopetown in pursuit of hope for a better life after slavery. |
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