“Capuchin is ready for Heritage Day.”
Words uttered with confidence by the chairman of the Clifton/Capuchin/Cocoye Village Council, Augustine Auguiste, at the launch of the event at the Old Mill Cultural Centre on Wednesday.
Heritage Day will be held in that northern village on October 19, 2014. The Cultural Division and a planning committee from the host community are organizing the activities for the occasion.
Auguiste said the committee has been working hard in order to make this event a success.
“A lot of preparations have been put in place in order to get Heritage Day underway and to be successful,” Auguiste said.
He said that over the years, the village of Capuchin has made tremendous strides in developing its “own personal status and way of life.”
“One of the villages where culture and cultural activities have always held a permanent place in the residents…cultural development is alive and well,” he stated, pointing out that Capuchin has blossomed in the areas educational, infrastructural, agricultural and social development.
“During recent times we saw the advent of the Capuchin Cultural Group…and this group has distinguished itself by capturing many national awards and has now become a household name as far as culture is concerned,” he said.
Meanwhile, Parliamentary Representative for the Cottage Constituency, Reginald Austrie said the government has injected over $25,000 in this year’s celebrations and the community has been working feverishly to ensure, “that this is going to be one of the better Heritage Days the country has seen.”
According to Austrie, Capuchin will also have its own site for the occasion, “Cana Heritage Site” one of the most recognized Heritage sites on the island.
“It has its own history, but the history really culminated when the government made a decision to acquire that particular portion of land and leave it in the hands of the people of Capuchin so they continue to work with their culture to demonstrate their cultural attributes. So Cana will be the site dedicated for Heritage Day.”
Another interesting aspect of the event is a fusion of negro and Carib culture.
“In Capuchin we still have some indigenous persons…so we are going to be seeing, maybe again for the first time a fusion of negro and carib life under one roof in one general location,” Austrie explained.
Heritage Day is now in its 30 th year and was established by the Konmite pou Etid Kweyol (KEK) and the Cultural Division in 1984, to highlight Dominica’s creole heritage and to mark the beginning of Simenn Kweyol/Creole Week.
Heritage Day is held in a different community each year. On that day, the host community highlights its special characteristics, history, agricultural, industrial and cultural achievements.
The programme is based on three main events; a Creole Church Service, an Exhibition and a Cultural Gala.
A special feature of the Cultural Gala is the honouring of a Cultural Elder, the elder who has made the most outstanding contribution to the preservation and development of the culture in that community.
The event will also feature the best creole foods.
Heritage Day was celebrated in the village of Bagatelle last year
Dominica should come enjoy heritage day at Capuchin, DNO please correct the Chairmans name; it is Augustine Auguiste and not Austrie
DNO, I am laughing because there is an error in the Captions of the names of the two individual photos you have portrayed here, nonetheless great stuff from this communities are what they are doing, I am just very proud of them, I wish them all the best in whatever they are presenting to the rest of Dominica. I am also wondering if this Mr. Auguiste is the same individual that I have not seen in thirty years plus who Married a young lady from Glanvillia (directly opposite the playing field on the southern side) God bless Dominica and it’s people.
Admin: Thanks for the observation.
Yes that’s the same guy