Guyana’s Consular General in Toronto, Canada Ms Sattie Sawh has assured that the annual Guyana Festival, which has become a prominent feature among Guyanese and other Caribbean nationals here and which was cancelled last year, will be staged this year.Addressing a wide cross-section of invitees, which included Ontario’s Liberal Member of Parliament Bas Balkissoon and veteran City Councilor Jim Karygiannis at the Guyana Consulate recently, the Consular General pointed out that the main bugbear was acquiring a suitable venue for the festival, which coincides with Guyana’s 49th Independence anniversary celebrations.
The gala occasion was the annual Open House staged by the Consulate in appreciation of the many individuals who have been supporting the work of the entity, through sponsorship.
Sawh reminisced on the disaster relief fund in 2005, under then Consular General Danny Doobay, when several parts of Guyana were inundated with flood waters and the excellent support obtained from the Guyanese community in Canada.
Reflecting on the past year, Sawh described it as a “trying one,” citing the non-staging of the festival as a big setback but pledged that “by hook or crook” it will be held this year and called on those present for their continued support and sponsorship.
The Consular General also touched briefly on the recent unwarranted killings in Paris, other tragedies around the world and the dreaded Ebola disease and asked the audience to observe a minute’s silence for the many lives that have been lost.
Both Balkissoon and Karygiannis expressed their support for the work of the Consulate with the latter pledging to assist in the acquiring of a venue for the festival.
The annual extravaganza, in previous years, attracted several prominent Guyanese cricketers in Rohan Kanhai, Basil Butcher, Clive Lloyd and the late Roy Fredericks among others, but over the past few years despite maintaining its popularity, the annual clash between a Guyana XI and a team featuring Guyanese players and a Canadian side had been cancelled mainly because of sponsorship.
The main attraction became a feature softball match between teams from the Ontario Softball Cricket League (OSCL) and the Canadian Softball Cricket Association (CSCA) and teams from these associations are already gearing for the much-anticipated faceoff.
Last year, the Festival Committee pointed out that the decision was taken after a very lengthy discussion that encompassed all of the levels of planning of the festival and it was decided that the event was facing some challenges.
The officials, however, gave the assurance that much emphasis and focus of their work will be channeled into this year and beyond.
The committee had noted then that this year will be quite significant for the staging of the festival since it will mark its scheduled 20 years in Toronto, and will also coincide with province wide celebrations and events for the 2015 PanAm Games, which is also expected to feature several Guyanese athletes.
The organisers opined that “this important anniversary will help to fuel a grand celebration in 2015, and will serve as a kick off to observances for Guyana’s 50th Independence Anniversary in 2016.”
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