AWARDS CEREMONY & DINNER DANCE
"Wordsworth McAndrew Award"

The Guyana Folk Festival announces its third annual Wordsworth McAndrew Award. In 2004, thirty-eight awards, representing the number of years of Guyana’s independence, are presented to individuals who have made important contributions to Guyana’s cultural life. The awardees have shared their talents through broadcasting, cultural promotion, drama, music, painting, theatre, and writing. Many of the Awardees have produced work in the genre related to this year's Festival theme: Guyanese Words: Written, Spoken, Sung, and Drawn.

Among those whose works have been notable for decades are Edgar Mittelholzer, Jan Carew, Denis Williams and the Rogers brothers, Eddie and Bert. The accomplishments of all the awardees have a mutuality with the spirit of the man for whom the award is named. 

Wordsworth McAndrew is one of Guyana's leading folklorists, poets, and creative artists. Through his work as a broadcaster in Guyana during the 1960s and 1970s, he helped to make Guyanese recognize and feel proud of their mythological and folkloric heritage. His study and celebration of Guyanese language and culture is an inspiration to the humble radio listener and to the scholar. He used all media available to explain and promote Guyanese cultural characteristics.  Wordsworth McAndrew is a pioneer.

The 2004 Wordsworth McAndrew Awardees were selected from a list of one hundred and fifty persons nominated by Guyanese worldwide. A committee chaired by Ron Lammy and Tangerine Clarke made its thoughtful selection from a combination of attributes defined by the following criteria: Originality, scope, impact / influence, integration, pioneering spirit, challenges and achievements. The Awards Ceremony and Dinner Dance is Friday, September 3, 2004 at 8 pm at the Rose Castle Grand Ballroom in Brooklyn, New York.  Tickets are available by telephone at 718-209-5207.

The  2004 Guyanese cultural heritage celebration begins with a symposium on Guyanese Words: Written, Spoken, Sung and Drawn at the Columbia University of New York campus in Manhattan. The opening session is from 12 noon  to 4pm on Friday September 3, 2004. The symposium continues at the same location on Saturday, September 4, 2004 at 10 am culminating with a performance at 6pm. Guyana Folk Festival is the presenter of the symposium. It is co-sponsored by The Center for Ethnomusicology at Columbia University, through the auspices of eCaroh Caribbean Emporium, and Ohio University’s Department of African American Studies.

On Sunday September 5, the Folk Festival Family Day will take place in Brooklyn and will feature folk games including one-tip two-tip cricket, arts and crafts, Guyanese cuisine, queh-queh dancing, tassa drumming, maypole plaiting and other exciting cultural presentations.

2004 WORDSWORTH McANDREW AWARD SELECTION CRITERIA 

1. Originality:  This attribute refers to nature of the idea, expression, or product/innovation.  The term "expression" is used here to refer to more than verbal expressions and can include any manifestation of Guyanese creativity from plait bread, butter flaps, peddle pushers, music, paintings, our cuisine, etc.
    

2. Scope:  Did the idea, expression, product/innovation have ramifications/consequences beyond the village, county, region, etc?  Has it been long lasting?  Here we also consider factors that could have constrained/restricted the scope of the idea, expression, product/innovation.
    

3. Impact/Influence:  Did the idea, expression, or product/innovation have economic, political, cultural, and social consequences?
    

4. Integration:  Did the idea, expression, or product/innovation contribute to social, cultural, and political harmony? Also, did it lead to the improvement of cultural understanding?
    

5. Pioneering spirit:  Pioneering spirit refers to an idea, expression, and product/innovation that was introduced even in the face of derision.
    

6. Challenges:  This refers to Guyanese who have overcome physical, psychological, economic, social, residential, cultural, and political barriers to make a contribution that satisfies some of the criteria/attributes listed at 1 through 5.
    

7. Achievements.  This refers to the nominee's body of work.  It is not a mere quantitative measure---"Nuff is not always the best."

June 2004