Black Stalin to perform at Carriacou Maroon Festival

Black Stalin from Trinidad will be among the top acts to perform at the 4th Carriacou Maroon and String Band Music Festival this weekend in Carriacou.

Maroon culture is about thanksgiving and prayers to the source of all life, production and prosperity. Its African origins are authentically depicted through drumming, singing, eating of ‘smoked food’ and other rituals practised in the unique Carriacou way by its people.

Drumming is an integral aspect of the Carriacou
Maroon and String Band festival.

The festival opens today, Friday, in the village of Six Roads, and during the festival, persons will experience a genuine maroon festival with rituals, drumming, songs and dance as well as eat and share the ancestral meal – ‘smoked food’.

On Saturday, April 27, the venue will be the Belair Heritage Park – home of Carriacou’s social and cultural activities. The programme consists of two parts: Firstly, presentations of big drum nation dance, quadrille dances, Shakespeare Mas and other cultural art forms by both local and regional groups. Secondly, there will be a two-hour string band concert featuring bands from Carriacou, Grenada, the British Virgin Islands and more. It closes on Sunday with a party on Paradise Beach.

An initiative of the Grenada Board of Tourism, the festival has received financial support from a number of private sector institutions including Republic Bank. The bank pledged $5 000 to the Grenada Board of Tourism and presented the cheque on Monday.

Maroon and string band music are cultural traditions uniquely preserved in Carriacou over the years, which showcase traditional dance, string band music, drumming and other cultural performances from local and regional participants.

On making the presentation to the Board of Tourism’s Acting Product Development Officer, Mrs. Kirl Hoschtialek, the Managing Director of Republic Bank, Keith Johnson, reaffirmed the bank’s unwavering commitment to the preservation and development of the values and cultural heritage of our ancestors.

Republic Bank encourages all to support this unique festival, which also serves as a tourist attraction and income earner for the sister isle. The bank joins in commending the Grenada Board of Tourism and other contributors in ensuring that the festival is preserved for future generations. (LS)