Indian Dance Group
The Montserrat St. Patrick’s Festival Week once again attracted scores of visitors to the island. This year ten days of events commemorated St. Patrick’s Day. The events concluded on March 20.
St Patrick’s Day is celebrated in Montserrat. It is a day observed firstly by the Roman Catholic church whose parish named after St. Patrick.
Irish Catholic indentured servants were shunned in other English controlled islands of the Caribbean. In the 17th century, they were accepted on the island of Montserrat. Here they formed a bond with the African slaves who worked on the English sugar plantations. This was how the Afro-Irish culture developed.
It is said that besides Ireland, Montserrat is the only country that observes St. Patrick’s Day as a national holiday. A week of activities is held to commemorate the occasion. Some persons dress in green or the traditional national dress of the island – green, orange, white and red.
Children Dancing
The zenith of St. Patrick’s Day was Heritage Feast at the Salem Centre Parking Lot. The all day event featured bingo games, musical renditions from local artistes such as 501 Entertainment and a reggae band headed by Bimshaw and other exhibits of culture. Exhibits were also mounted by different organizations including the Golden Arrowhead Association, Janelle Brandt Requa of Jaja Designs, Cathron, Methodist Women, Woolcock’s Craft and WG10 Women.
Other events included the Two Emerald Isles Cabaret, Cross Island Pub Crawl and Vendors’ Market which was held on March 18. The previous day began with the Freedom Run and Walk from Cudjoe Head to Salem. This in commemoration of the 18th century slave uprising.
The Freedom Run (and Walk) has now become an annual event. It was the first event which took place on St. Patrick’s Day. The winning runners men were Jaret Omar who completed the trek in 25:31, Leon Williams 25:46 and Trevon Pollard 27:36. The women in this category were Janet Turner 38:17, Mandy Storm 41:03 and Karen McShea 43:08. Stanford Kelly in a time 44:38, Francis Lexvern 46:50 and Keith Howe 47:25 were the winners for the Walk Race. The winning women were Olive Thomas, 52:27, Mary Gerald, 53:48:00 and Donilia Cuffy, 56:43.
The youngest to complete the distance were Silford Moore and Catrice Fenton both eight-years old. Seventy-one year old Kathy Buffonge and 64-year old Mike Owen were the oldest.
The Freedom Run and Walk was followed by Fun Sports, with a Lunchtime Lime featuring the Martin Healy Band and National Jamboree.
The 13th annual Junior Calypso Competition formed part of the events for the week. It was held on March 19 at the Montserrat Cultural Centre and organized by the Montserrat Union of Teachers. Sylvester Baptiste, ‘Tornado’ was crowned 2011 Junior Calypso Champion. Earlier that day COMYA staged a Goat Water Competition and Fashion Show.
National Heritage Day was slated for March 16. On that day Howe’s Enterprises celebrated the opening of its new location with a Green Party, the Cultural Dance Exchange India and Montserrat, and an All Night Dance Party.
On March 15 was the Sunset Lime in Salem with the Martin Healy Band and the University of the West Indies Lecture by Dr. Samuel Joseph.
Prior to that, on March 14 were the opening of the National Exhibition, the After Work Lime with the Martin Healey Band, Pre-St.
Patrick Happy Hour and Adult Playground Lime along with the Salem Centre Lime and Jump-up.
The third day of the festivities, Sunday March 13, the Sunday mass was celebrated at the new St. Patrick’s Parish Church in Look Out. It was followed by a Sunday brunch featuring the Martin Healy Band and a Beach Party.
This year the festival began on Friday, March 11, with a Heritage Concert – The Next Act Talent Concert. The Freedom Hike on the Centre Hills, the Big Breakfast, Kite Festival and St. Patrick’s Dinner featuring the Martin Healy Band and Cabaret, followed on Saturday, March 12. See more photos of St. Patrick’s Week of activities
The Montserrat St. Patrick’s Festival Week ended with a Beach Cool down, swim and dive at the Woodlands Beach.
National Trust Hike
Chairman of the St. Patrick’s Week Planning Committee, the Hon. Minister Colin Riley, during a recent broadcast on the ZJB Radio posited that the week of events contributes to the tourism sector on the island. “I wasn’t there to see the crowd, but, I understand there was a large visitor presence in the crowd at Salem,” he said
Speaking of his vision for the celebration and ways to expand it, he said that attention should be placed on the duration of the festival and the quality of what is highlighted. “There are certain types of initiatives that we like to carry forward. Other things that may not be too popular may have to be given a second look. Whatever we do next year is going to be indicative and representative of spectacle making the streets,” he promised. Minister Colin Riley speaks about St. Patrick’s Day next year
