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GUYANA FOLK FESTIVAL ENDED ANOTHER YEAR WITH STELLAR PRESENTATIONS
BY TANGERINE CLARKE

Superb weather, hundreds of people waving Guyana and Caribbean flags, music, dance, poetry and the aroma of Island spices, all made for an exciting end to the Guyana Folk Festival's 6th Annual Family Fun day and weekend of events that commenced in June with a Festival of Film, and Video and in July with a Performing Arts Festival to honor the country's 40th Anniversary of Independence.

Starting at 11:00 A.m. on Sunday September 3, the entrance to Meyer Levin Performing Arts School in Brooklyn, was a scene of excitement as patrons anxiously lined up to enter the venue where Celebrating our Caribbean Heritage - CARIFESTA “72 Revisited - was the theme of the festival.

The afternoon no doubt belonged to the Youth Folk Fest. They sizzled in elaborate colorful costumes and pranced on stage to complete creative choreographies. From the tots of Impressions Dance Theatre, to the tweens of the Mildred Forde Dancers, to the teens of the Canadian Dance Theater and the New Revelation Dance Company, they were all magnificent.

The festival was one gigantic spectacle with the Trinidadians adding their blend to highlight the inclusion of the Caribbean to the Guyanese celebration. Darryl Morris performed an Indian Calypso medley, while the Roxborough Police Youth Club presented traditional folk dances. Karen Nepture, also of Trinidad did a Steelpan and dance routine.

Radio personality, Franklin “Bobby” Vieira had his hands full as emcee, trying to limit the multitude of performers who were all excited to keep the audience reveling on the tarmac as they screamed, danced and waved a mix of Caribbean flags.

Michelle 'Big Red” King, always the crowd pleaser, led the crowd in a 'fine wine' movement, as she was accompanied by Chronicle Atlantic Symphony Steelband.

Thanks also to the students of the Meyer Levin Steel Orchestra for their stellar performance. Jaggea's Drum Poetry, the Haitian Arts and Crafts group all made the festival a resounding success.

Mary Mavis, a patron, said that she was overwhelmed with nostalgia after viewing Derrick John Jeffrey's one-act play “Standpipe” that was staged in the auditorium during the afternoon proceedings.

The festival fun day ended with a last lap of reveling led by Eze Rockcliffe and some of the members of the original Yoruba Singers, Guyana Longest reigning folk band, together with drummers, Akoyah Rudder, Jeggea, singer Marlon Jardine and members of the Vision Band.

Mega sponsors: Western Union, MoneyGram, La Parkan, North American Airlines, Travelspan Vacations, Thierry Mugler Parfums, Monet Hennsessy USA, and BWIA were on hand with freebees and to show their support.

The committee members have called this year's festival one of the best of many more to come.

The festival was organized by Malcolm Hall, Drs. Vibert Cambridge and Juliet Emanuel, Claire Goring, Pearl Miles, Claire Patterson-Monah, Maurice Blenman, Maurice Braithwaite, Godfrey Chin, Tangerine Clarke, Jamela Edoo, Ashton Franklin, Muriel Glasgow, Ronald H. Lammy, Rose October-Edun, Romesh Singh, Patricia Trim, Franklin “Bobby” Vieira, Verna Walcott-White, Godfrey Williams, Francis Farrier, and Margaret Lawrence.

The youth team included; Claire Dougall, Patrice Britton, Jonothon Hall, Shanice Hodge, Taylor Lewis, and Owen Williams.

THE HONORABLE YVETTE CLARKE, COUNCILMEMBER, AND CANDIDATE FOR UNITES STATES CONGRESS, PRESENTED COMMITTEE MEMBERS OF THE GUYANA FOLK FESTIVAL WITH CITATIONS AT THE FAMILY FUN DAY HELD AT MEYER LEVINE PERFORMING ARTS SCHOOL IN BROOKLYN. THE AWARDS WERE PRESENTED FOR OUTSTANDING WORK IN THE COMMUNITY, AND FOR PRODUCING THE FOLK FESTIVAL

FROM LEFT ARE JAMES RICHMOND, DR. JULIET EMANUEL, JOURNALIST TANGERINE CLARKE, CULTURAL DIRECTOR CLAIRE GORING, COUNCIL MEMBER YVETTE CLARKE, AND FINANCIAL DIRECTOR, CLAIRE PATTERSON-MONAH. EMCEE FRANKLIN 'BOBBY VIEIRA LOOKS ON.
Photo Credit - LINDEN DRAKES

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FRANCIS FARRIER AND HIS FAMILY APPLAUD THE PLAYS	FINANCIAL DIRECTOR CLAIRES PATTERSON-MONAH SHOWS-OFF PLAYBILL	MEMBER ASHTON FRANKLIN WITH FRIENDS AT THE PLAYS
MEMBER ROMESH SINGH, CULTURAL DIRECTOR CLAIRE GORING AND RON DAILY OF MEYER LEVIN SCHOOL	THE LADIES POSE FOR A PHOTO-UP DURING INTERMISSION	LADIES NIGHT OUT AT THE PLAYS
THUMBS UP FROM MAURICE, FRANCIS, ASHTON AND FRIEND AFTER VIEWING THE PLAYS	LORNA IS PROUD TO SELL THE FOLK FEST TEE SHIRT	Scene from "Stand Pipe" L to R: Marcel Braithwaite, Mariama Sillah and Claud Leandro.
Francis Quamina Farrier happily displays the Playbill after viewing his play - Mayor of Susanburg	The final scene from "Mayor of Susanburg" L to R are: Rose October-Edon, Mariama Sillah, Winston Yarde, Maurice Braithwaite, Trevolta Karran and Claud Leandro.	Scene from "Mayor of Susanburg" L to R: Maurice Braithwaite, Trevolta Karran [with gun] and Claud Leandro.

FRANCIS FARRIER REVISITS SUSANBURG AT FOLK FESTIVAL PERFORMING ARTS STAGE IN BROOKLYN

Playwright Francis Quamina Farrier's Tides of Susanburg radio serial - a saga that takes place in the mythical village on the East Coast of Demerara in Guyana - was revisited in the rib-tickling -Mayor of Susanburg- that brought modern day life to the main character Mortimer Mustapha Mentore, played by the tale's original actor/director Maurice Braithwaite.

Thanks to Braithwaite, who encouraged Farrier to develop the character of Mayor Mentor, Guyanese were once again entertained by the skillful work of this native son of playwriting, in a masterpiece that put the Soap on stage, for the first time.

The widely talked about satire debuted at the Guyana Folk Festival Performing Arts Stage recently, bringing back fond memories of Guyanese theatre. At the same time, the presentation gave a live audience, a peek into the conflicts of the so loved characters of the first ever soap opera written by a Guyanese.

Farrier, describes Mentore as a character from Susanburg who has gained respectability becoming Lord Mayor of the village, but bringing with him controversy, as a former criminal jailed for arson.

The lines of the play just come alive about the current state of the Republic, that is riddled with crime, corruption, drug trafficking, and the phantom squad that continue to have Guyanese fearful for their lives.

“Despite its fiction, it is an honest and bold picture of grim realities and social injustices that still exists in our society. Farrier said.

Tides of Susanburg hinges on Savitrie Winters, an Indo-Guyanese who was married to an Afro-Guyanese who was the proprietor of the Eldorado Guest House.

After he died, Savitirie's barren sister-in-law, cooked-up schemes to declare Savitirie an unfit mother because of jealousy.

Mentore, whose love for Savatrie was rebuked, sided with the sister-in-law, and later, innocently suffered the consequences of a jail term after a fire destroyed the guesthouse.

Girl From Susanburg - was the spin-off that continued the story with Savitirie's daughter - June who faced the challenges of being of mixed heritage.

Farrier used the backdrop of his happy boyhood upbringing in the picturesque Essequibo lake Region, where the Africans, Amerindians, Portuguese, and East Indians lived in a rich cultural mix of peoples - to create a gripped storyline that had Guyanese glued to their radios.

“Even though I was born a city boy, I lived, and grew to love the Essequibo Coast, and was inspired by its beautiful lakes, a feature that allowed me to create the village of Susanburg.

Farrier said he also used the Venezuela claim of ownership of that region, to bring a realistic feel to his writing.

Farrier is arguably a living legend, and a theatre icon not only in Guyana but also now on the international stage. He first introduced the Guyanese community to Susanburg in 1968, when, then Program Director of Radio Demerara, Rafiq Khan, commissioned him to produce a play for the airwaves.

But long before then, at the tender age of 11, Farrier won a school essay writing competition. He later went on to claim both the first and third prize awards at the national Playwriting competition on the occasion of Guyana Independence in 1966.

A talent to be reckoned with, Farrier has remained the single most loved and sought-after playwright in Guyana. He has written dozens of plays for stage and radio over the past four decades, and was singled out by the Guyana Government to write the play- Journey to Freedom.

As a world-renowned TV Journalist, Farrier, has cover numerous assignments and could still be seen with his camera documenting breaking news in Guyana for various news outlets.

Uncle Francis, as he is fondly referred, is the winner of the 2005 Guyana Youth Challenge Award, and was recognized for his outstanding work with the Annual Mass at St. Paul the Apostle Guyana just recently. The Cultural Association Folk Festival in New York recognized his contribution to the cultural arts, from where he received an award.

Farrier says he was inspired by the outstanding performance put on by the Dramatic Core Production, and thanked the cast for bringing his characters to life for the first time on stage.

The actors included Claude Leandro, Trevolta Karran, Juliet Emanuel, Maurice Braithwaite, Mariana Haja Sillah, Rose October-Edun, Raynor Ready, Marcel Braithwaite and James Richmond.

SCULPTOR PHILIP MOORE, AND FRANK THOMASSON THEATER PIONEER TO RECEIVE LIFE TIME AND EXEMPLARY AWARDS RESPECTIVELY

The Guyana Cultural Association - organizer of the Guyana Folk Festival, will bestow its highest honors on two exceptional artists during the Festival’s 6th awards ceremony that will recognize 40 outstanding individuals and entities in celebration of Guyana’s four decades of Independence.

The awards will also recognize those whose work enabled the development of the nation’s cultural heritage. These include a number of non-artiste enablers of the proud diversity.

The awards will be handed out at Brooklyn Borough Hall, on Wednesday August 30, at 6:00 p.m. during an invitation only ceremony - that will feature an exciting presentation to highlight this year’s theme – Celebration our Caribbean Culture – CARIFESTA 72 Revisited.

Eighty-five year old Moore, who will fly from Georgetown to accept this prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award, is the noted artist who constructed the 1763 Monument - that commemorates the Berbice slave revolt led by the slave named Cuffy.

The monument stands tall in the heart of Georgetown, next to Castellani House, where Moore’s outstanding collection is a part of the national artists’ work on display.

Moore’s earliest sculptures were done in isolation with homemade tools, which has made his work highly personal, and one that stands out in the National History and Arts Council in Guyana.

And for his pioneering efforts to the Guyanese theatre community, British-born Frank Thomasson, will journey from homeland in Europe to receive the Exemplary Award for his contribution to the Guyanese people.

Stage performer Ken Corsbie of “Caribbean Voices” says of Thomasson, “I've often wondered if I would have been "in theatre" up to this day, if Frank Thomasson had not been around at the Theatre Guild in "the good ol' days".

“His influence on me must have been subtle but profound. Who knows? Thoughtfulness, concern, perspective of being serious but not too serious, of keeping the sense of humor and an eye and ear for the bizarre may have been some of he unstated influences that rubbed off on me in varying degrees.”

Other Awardees include: Harry Bissoon - promoter, enabler; Sam Chase – comedian; Norman Cameron - dramatist, African studies pioneer; Alan Cooper - actor, musician; Cyril Dabydeen - writer, poet; Bertram Devarrel - pioneer of the steelpan in Guyana; Erwin "Soflantis" Edwards – musician; Ashton Franklin – artist; Allan Fenty - folklorist, writer, poet; Roger Gary - international fashion designer; Walter Green - writer, designer, fashion commentator; Guyana Police Force band – musicians; Hawley Harris - artist (cartoonist); Mark Holder – musician; Terry Holder - enabler, pioneer of Folk Festival; Vic Insanally - promoter, enabler; Derrick John Jeffrey – playwright; Trevor John – musician; and Patricia Jordan-Langford - cultural enabler.

Also receiving awards are: Romesh Kalicharran - promoter, enabler; Laxmie Khalicharran - artist, promoter, enabler; Habeeb Khan - comedian, actor; Ronald H. Lammy - cultural enabler; Iris Leitch - steelpan pioneer, enabler; Mignon Lowe - actress, dancer; Gem Madhoo-Nascimento - promoter, enabler; Jack Mello – comedian; Paloma Mohamed Martin - playwright, poet; Taij Moteelall - spoken word artist; Dennis Nelson - promoter, enabler; Kwesi Oginga - actor, artist.

Eze Rockcliffe &Yoruba Singers – musicians; Leon E. Saul - playwright, actor; Cyril Shaw - promoter, enabler; Hazel Shury - sculptor, artist; Kishore Seunarine - actor, promoter, enabler; Burchmore Simon - musician, enabler; and Carol Trim-Bagot - cultural enabler, round off the impressive list.