Mash 2013 – expected to be  a mix of fun and intellect

The Ministry of Culture Youth and Sport in collaboration with the Central Mashramani organising committee has been working tirelessly over the past months and the effort has culminated with a very exciting calendar of activities for is year’s event.

Minister of Culture Youth and Sport Dr. Frank Anthony at a press conference today at the Ministry’s Board Room, Main Street, said from all reports centrally, preparations are heating up. He expressed optimism that Mash 2013 will be bigger and better.

Minister of Culture Youth and Sport Dr Frank Anthony at the press conference accompanied by other Ministry personnel

Also present at the press conference were representatives of Republic Bank, Ansa McAl, the Guyana Telegraph and Telegraph (GT&T) company, and Digicel, who are some of the main sponsors of the various activities.

Minister Anthony said there will be a mixture of fun and intellectual activities because over the years the Ministry has been criticised for being more on the “fun side”. He said among the intellectual activities will be  lectures on various historical topics, especially since this month Guyana will be celebrating 250 years of the Berbice slave rebellion.

Preparations for the traditional flag raising ceremony are also in progress in all the 10 administration regions. The ministry has indicated to the various regions that there must be uniformity in the observance because there have been complaints of inconsistency.

The chutney competition has been completed and the Carib Soca monarch competition  kicked off last weekend in Linden. It will be heading to Berbice for the semi finals, then to Georgetown where 13 participants including the reigning Soca Monarch Jomo Primo, will be competing for the crown.

Calypso

According to Minister Anthony, the junior calypso competition has concluded, and the Ministry has had varying reviews and will be putting some mechanisms in place to improve the quality of that particular competition.

A group of children performing at the 2013 Calypso and Dramatic Poetry competition

He also said that this year after more than five years, the health song had to be put on pause due to only four persons entering the competition. “We felt that it did not make sense to proceed with just four competitors, hopefully more people will compete next year,” he said.

The adult calypso competition will also be coming up shortly.

Float Parade

Preparation for the much anticipated float parade is also going smoothly. Minister Anthony stated that 30 bands will be participating in this highly anticipated February 23 event.  This competition will be a combination of private sector entities, Government Ministries, the regions and others.

A scene from the 2012 Children’s Road parade

Thus far, Banks DIH has already completed their costumes, and Minister Anthony urged the other bands that have collected registration forms and have not submitted them to do so as soon as possible. The ministry will be visiting Mash camps soon.

Additionally, he said that there is a special committee dealing with safety and security on that day. The Guyana Power and Light (GPL) has already been making electrical checks, and the mayor and city council will be responsible for cleaning.

Masquerade

The ministry has been working on resuscitating the masquerade bands, and to date several have indicated that they will come onboard. A special competition will be held for them, provided that enough bands are registered.

He said that if enough bands do not participate, the few will be utilised on the road parade. “One way or another we will be having masquerade as part of our celebrations, but we are very hopeful that with the symposium which was held in December more bands will participate,” he said.

Children’s Competition

National Coordinator of Allied Arts, Desiree Wyles-Ogle reported that the final of the regional competition is being held this week in Regions 4, 6, 9, and the Georgetown education district.

The Calypso and Dramatic Poetry competition kicked off today at the National Cultural Centre and the dance and masquerade are slated for February 14. The Choir Presentation ‘Salute to Guyana’ is billed for February 15 and on February 16 the much anticipated Costume Parade will be staged. This will move off from Parade ground, Middle Street and culminate at the National Park.

This parade has various categories: nursery primary and secondary, children’s organisation, and regional bands, and there is also a special category for individuals.

This year, the essay competition will be extended to school children and young people who have completed school. It will be held under the theme, “The role of youth in nation building” and will have two categories of entrants, junior 18 years and below and seniors 18 years and above. Winners will receive prize monies and gift certificates among others.

The Child   Art competition is slated to begin on February 12 and run up to March 1. Organiser Collette Jones- Chin stated that things are picking up and more children are registering. The competition is open for children between the ages of 4-17, who will have a chance to showcase their talent in drawing and painting, sculpture, ceramics, body art and tattooing.

Steel band

Preliminaries for the steel band competition will be held on February 15, and the finals will be held for schools, at the National Cultural Centre on February 17, along with the choir competition.

Children participating in steel band competition

Convenor of the Steel pan competition, Andrew Tyndall said, additionally, there will be a number of steel band concerts across the country to usher in the celebration. A total of $2.8M in prizes will be up for grabs, in four categories.

Bright-up Guyana

The ministry has created a new concept for the “Bright up Guyana” competition. Each household in Guyana is asked to participate.

Coordinator, Nadine Hing urged persons to buy a flag and drape their fence and get involved in the Republic celebrations.

“We want to move away from that one-day event where families go and picnic…we want to see houses from Timehri to Berbice decorated,” she said.

Elderly concert 

The elderly folks will also have a chance to be a part of this celebration.

This activity will be taken to them where they will have a chance to be a part of a number of lectures on Guyana’s history, and republicanism. There will also be bands performing folk songs for them.