President Malcolm Hall proudly displays proclamation from Yvonne Graham on behalf of GCA/FF Photo Credit: Linden Drakes	Doris Harper-Wills poses for picture after accepting her award Photo Credit: Linden Drakes
Attendees dancing to the drumbeats of Jaggea and Akoya at reception following awards Photo Credit: Linden Drakes

BROOKLYN, NY.
August 7, 2005

The Guyana Folk Festival announces its 2005 annual Guyana Cultural Association Folk Festival Awards. Thirty-nine awards, one for every year of Guyana's independence, will be presented at an Award Ceremony on August 31, 2005 at the Brooklyn Borough Hall, New York. The honorees will be featured in both the Guyana Folk print magazine and on the website: http://guyfolkfest.org.

The 2005 list of honorees recognizes many stalwarts of Guyanese Dance expression in acknowledgment of this year's Festival theme: Celebrating Guyanese Dance. Among the awardees are two outstanding contributors. This year for the first time, The Guyana Folk Festival will award a special Exemplary Award and the Guyana Cultural Association Wordsworth McAndrew Lifetime Achievement Award.

Madame Lavinia Williams receives the special Exemplary Award for her role in the formation and development of the National Dance Company of Guyana.

Doris Harper Wills is accorded the Guyana Cultural Association, Wordsworth McAndrew Lifetime Achievement Award for pioneering work in the dance art form.

In addition to dance, every major art form has been recognized in the broad-based selection of nominees in Guyanese culture. All Honorees are selected through an open process of call for nominations from the global Guyanese Diaspora. A selection committee evaluates each nomination considering seven attributes in our selection criteria: originality, scope, impact / influence, integration, pioneering spirit, challenges and achievements. The honorees represent exemplary models in their discipline.

Attendance at the Award Ceremony at the Rotunda of the Brooklyn Borough Hall, New York is by invitation. If you have any questions and prefer to call, kindly contact our Cultural Director, Claire Goring at 718.209.5207 for more information regarding this Award Ceremony or other Guyana Folk Festival events. You can also visit www.guyfolkfest.org or send an email to RHLammy@guyfolkfest.org.

Sincerely,

Ronald H. Lammy      Tangerine Clarke,
Co-Chairs, Guyana Cultural Association Folk Festival Awards Selection Committee

2005 LIST OF HONOREES

EXEMPLARY AWARD
Williams, Lavinia

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT
Wills, Doris Harper

• Alves, Bonny
• Andries, Lloyd
• Britton, Lio Queh Queh Group
• Cambridge, Vibert
• Chan, Neil
• Charles, Dudley
• Chin, Godfrey
• Douglas, Andrea
• Douglas Daniel, Vivienne
• DrePaul, John
• Emanuel, Juliet
• Fredericks, John
• Griffith, Linda
• Hoppie, Winston
• Lanyi, David
• Lawrence, Margaret
• Mack, Trenton
• McClintock, Philip
• Moore, Colin
• National Dance Company of Guyana
• October Edun, Rose
• Pereira, Beryl
• Pilgrim, Frank
• Primus, Sandra
• Richmond, James
• Rudder, Akoyah
• Sage, Boysie
• Sargeant, Elsie
• Seales, Ray
• Shah, Malini
• Singh, Gora
• Singh, Pritha
• Sister Rose Magdeline
• Stewart-Shaw, Sandra
• Taitt, Helen
• Valz, Sonia
• Walcott, Verna
• Williams, Ras Como
• Woodside Choir

2004 GUYANA CULTURAL ASSOCIATION FOLK FESTIVAL 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