The official opening of the 47th Anniversary of Independence kicks off on Saturday, September 27, with a parade in the streets of Roseau from 3:00 PM.
Chief Cultural Officer Earlson Matthew made the announcement while speaking on DBS Radio on Monday.
“Well, last year, for the first time, we did the official opening parade. Of course, the day before that, we did the ceremony because we heard the complaints that people [don’t] like, you know, the speeches after the road and all of that. So we did the official opening and then the parade last year,” he said. “And the parade was a success. It was a hit, I could say. People enjoyed it. And what we’re going to do this year is build on that. So, you know, we [took] note of things that needed improvement and things that worked well. And we’re just going to keep building on that.”
He continued, “ I mean, there are things that we didn’t feature, things like the marching band aspect. You remember Independence back in the days before the World Creole Music Festival, the highlight of the Independence season was actually the street parade, the military parade. So, I mean, the festival has grown…”
According to Matthew, organizers plan to include the element of the marching band.
“So we have the Cadet Corps with us [and] if we are talking of improvement from last we didn’t feature dance so heavily, so we are going to feature bele on the road, we are going to feature the European round dances on the road, with live amplified traditional bands backing them up,” he revealed. “We had two last year [and] we are going to double on that this year.”
He continued, “We are going to feature a float done by DEXIA [Dominica Export Import Agency] and the Local Government Division, which will highlight Market Day with a Difference, because that is another important part of the Independence season.”
Matthew explained that the float will be a simulation of a market day, “the market stand and the produce…they will be doing all of that.”
Furthermore, he said there will be another float featuring WATO, highlighting the cuisine aspect of Dominica’s culture.
Additionally, Matthew encourages the general public to wear madras for the occasion.
“We are asking the public to wear their madras on Saturday,” he encouraged. “We want to make it inclusive, you don’t just come and watch, you are part of it because you have to dress the part as well; look the part.”
Meanwhile, he said the parade route will be similar to last year and will begin from the Pottersville Savannah to the City of Roseau, then will follow the Carnival route, “From Independence Street, King George V Street, the Dame Eugenia Charles Boulevard, Kennedy Avenue.”
“When we get to Great George Street by Payless we make a left onto Great George Street, and all the way to the Bridge. We take a left onto the Promenade, which is different from last year,” Matthew explained. “Last year we went through the market and came up.”
DNO, could you upload, in PDF or transcribed, the Salisbury Declaration of August 29, 1976? I think it’s a very important historical document and should be more widely known during these Independence celebrations.
Great idea but Chou Poul is on the poster advertising the event and yet they are not part of the parade this year. What a disappointment for that cultural band.
Dominica is not independent. It has become Chinese dependency. The indigenous inhabitants are torrent on Roosevelt for free apartments to occupy temporarily and for handouts to sustain them.These are the unvarnished, uncomfortable facts.
What is there to celebrate? Hardship, hunger, unemployment, crime, homelessness, corruption, police brutality, bogs arrests, injustice, discrimination, nepotism, cronyism, degradation of the environment ………
The future of Dominica looks bleak. A dark, thick, cumulonimbus cloud of uncertainty hovers over Dominica. God does not like ugly.