Deputy Chairman of the Grand Bay Village Council, Mr. Armour Thomas believes that this year’s Feast of St. Isidore will be the biggest instance in the event’s history, when the feast is held from Thursday 9th to Monday 13th of June.
Speaking at a press conference aimed at releasing the activities for the feast, this morning, Thomas extended an invitation to the public to come to the feast for the signature experience that it offers.
“The council has been organizing Isidore and, this year, we’ve decided to make it bigger than what it used to be. We would like to welcome the public to come Grand Bay to celebrate with us Fete’ Isidore. This is a feast that we have been making big and this year we would like to make it even bigger,” Thomas said.
In his capacity as Councilor of the Grand Bay Village Council, Edward Registe outlined the packed line-up of events for the feast including an award ceremony celebrating the achievements of a number of local groups and artists.
“Our program begins on the 9th of June with an award and recognition ceremony. The Midnight Groovers, veteran Ka’dance band here in Dominica, celebrates its 40th anniversary and we believe that that is deserving of recognition. Also the cultural group Tradibelle is celebrating its 30th anniversary and the Golden Squad band, a reggae band from Grand Bay, celebrates its 20th anniversary and Michel Henderson, also hails from Grand Bay and we want to recognize her as well and her achievements at the Grandbay Community Centre,” Registe stated.
Events Director of the Dominica Festivals Committee (DFC), Nathalie Clarke-Meade, pledged the committee’s support for the feast.
Other events include the feast staple event, ‘Braf’ on the Boulevard, Miss South Pageant and the Fleur Pageant, a new pageant of the feast, Kubuli’s Birthday Bash; celebrating the birthdays of all residents born in June, the Isidore Road Race and Monday’s Parade of Bands
Artistes featured during the Feast of St. Isidore include the Fanatik Band, WCK, Impulse Band, Golden Squad Band, Swinging Stars and the Fire Burners Crew; a young band out of Grand Bay.
The Feast of St. Isidore is sponsored by LIME, Kubuli Beer, the Grand Bay Credit Union, Digicel, Underground Sound System and the Division of Culture.
Hello Grand Bay please once again,demonstrate to the world ur extraordinarily great talent in culture.Rollthe red carpet to all strangers and welcome everyone with open arms and also bear in mind the Dominicans that hate you, will not change that affection for them.If Dominicans decide to wipe you out or divid you from the island accept it and move on and continue to protect the Dominica diaspora where ever they deinimate
sout city people all ways been positive and progresive people,just tell de motoring public to hold it down, and them bad eggs to respect dem self,and everthing go be bless,
Jah Boi i doe know why people would waste their time an go to that place they call Grand bay, Jah! Jah! we need to separate this place from Dominica..
you keep away from Grand bay family guy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What an ignorant statement
grand bay loves u 4life and will never relent. Jean Boir c’est moun canmem.
NONSENSE! Here we go again. More sewo, more fete, more brain dead simpletons about to do what they do best: fete, fete fete.
The last time i heard, Isidor was a Catholic Saint representing to virtues of work, work, work, and discipline.
Was it just me or did anyone else notice the absence of anyone from the church on the panel: not a priest or a Bishop, or a lay minister.
As a Catholic i am disgusted at the emptiness that we have brought this thing to
I grew up in grand bay and the parade of the bands always follows a church service with the people bringing in the fruits of their labor to be blessed. The day begins with this church service
If you are a catholic you should know this.
GUYS.GUYS ……………………….. Is there any body who remembers Isidor 1988. When Noreen John for hewlett was the chair woman for the village council and was the main organizer for the event. She blow it out the ball park.Estimation was close to 10.000 people .There where Activities cannot done including a market were people came and show off all there fruits and vegetables etc.It was awesome.People talked about the Isidor for many years after. It can happen again if every one put there two cents together.Away, every body have a wonder full Isidor support and be safe.I’ll be watching.
I remember growing up Grand bay was the place to be for Isidor.Isidor have been lacking planning for the past years, We need to get reed of the Old and bring in the New,but the Old do not want to let go.
Heineken have been sponsor Isidor for the past year,Need to know from the organizes what happen.
I agree. We have young people who have good organizational skills
great question…….ask willi and armour dem what happened….. they holding on fervently and do not want to let the youth come in. There are young professionals in the community who have planned events successfully….braf on the boulevard was the brain child of some these young men who volunteered that year they had it first..and it was then taken on by the council and was changed completely from what it was from its inception…that is all they do. they do not realize that they a doing more harm than good here.
I am all ready for Fete Isidore. Will be attending all of the events as long as I have life and strength. ISIDORE 2011, I in dat! Looking forward to the Miss South Pageant and the Braff on the Boulevard. Show them how we “sewotay” South style. Big up South City!
I am looking forward to an Isidore that can top the ones in 1977 and 1978, and I say it cannot happen. In 1977 the Library and Work Study Committee (LWSC) with ideologue Bernard Wiltshire organized Isidore to draw massive and I mean massive support for the struggle towards political independence. Music, food, atmosphere, culture. Grand Bay was bursting at its seams with people. Center could not take more people. Look fete…with a cultural and political expression that was second to none in Dominica. The Work Study Group, Pillier was in the forefront with Paul “Hanna” Alexander as its leader. There was fellas like “Myson” Dominique, “Sookdin” St.Hilaire, “Lola’ Bastien, Carmen Blaize and “D’Jamala” Fontaine in that group Pillier. Pierro was then the leader of L’Echelle and the leader of the Library and Work Study Committee.
In 1978, there was trouble in the LWSC. Pillier did not want Bernard Wiltshire and his policies at all. So they boycotted the Isidore Festival and the LWSC had to go to the Foward Work Study Group to have them to organize the festival in about a month time. Every time I remember the 1978 Isidore Festival, I remember the leader of Forward, Bonti Liverpool (Batu). He was a rum drinker and a dope smoker. In fact nobody could drink and smoke like Batu (and his partner Nico), but he was an intellectual and a hard and driving leader. I can still hear his voice ringing out in the hills “TIMBERRRR” as the big trees we were cutting down to build the stage at Center came crashing down. Batu organized the groups that had not boycotted the Isidore Festival into work brigades. I was in the Che Guevara Brigade under John Leatham. There was other work brigades Batu organized, the Unicef brigade was under Sonson John. Pillier came in when they saw that their boycotting strategy could not work in the face of Bonti Liverpool’s leadership.
The 1978 Isidore Festival therefore was a BOMB. Alwin Bully and the People Action Theatre opened up the lavway the Friday nite… Music, culture, people, and the lalay hot hot hot.
Beat that, Armour and I will take my hat off to you.
those were the glory days!! the present organisers of isidore do not have the vision to beat those days… and they do not want a younger more vibrant team to take over the coordination and organisation of the event. they take no advice from anyone…..and maintain that any economical benefits from the event has to surround them and their people… they are not for the community, they are for themselves…… just reading your comment got me all excited and the way you expressed it i could visualize everything….cheers
If these guys and gyals put their time and effort to promote our community and cultural traditions, I think that it is unfair to accuse them of being for themselves and not for the community. The main beneficiary is the survival of our cultural tradition. Everyone thinks that a lot of money is made but there are so many groups wanting to be paid lucratively, (if that’s a word), that very little or no profit is made by the organizing committee. Other vendors in the community and bus drivers benefit anyway.
So please try to encourage these folks to hang in there in the interest of the survival of our culture.
Love you all. Sout’ City forver!! Forward ever!!
sout man if you are grand bay or have been grand bay for the past years you would understand what i mean. Their efforts are trivial compared to the other people who are willing and voluntaring and not given the chance or help and resources to execute. They are a bunch of glory mungers politically driven group, who refuses to work with any honest community driven people straying away from their political or personal endevours. i am speaking from experience here. its time for them to give it up.
What an isidore in 1977,never to be duplicated.Brought back memories like it was yesterday the way u discribed it.I remember the great bands like grammacks Black roots black affairs and grandbays own MG,the food and the festive atmosphere.Imagine these guys have a foreign band(members from grandbay but live in states) on the card and they just simply said Impulse.These guys are very good have several albums and comming home on their own pocket to play for their people and that’s how he make mention of them.Armour need to go back to dubique and fish and eat his moweng,let young minds with vibrant ideas contribute to grandbay’s cultural well being.
ace i concur 100%. this is the what armour and his likes need to do now. We need to revolutionize our thinking here in the sout. The youth is ready and willing and they will not give us a chance. you have guys like julian pacquette, jeno jacob, rabel, nept pacquette and many more vibrant young people volunteering and are community driven fellas willing to take up the mantle. year after year their ideas and effort are pushed aside like they dont exist…..this is what i mean.
Yes, those days were great. 1979 was also great, despite the civil service strike. Pillier was the power house behind 1979. What about 1980 Bala Park Festival with Big Youth from Jamaica, Roosevelt Douglas, PM OJ Seraphine and African dignitaries? The rivalry between Pillier, lead by Lawa, at Bala Park; and L’echelle / DLM- Alliance, lead by Pierro,at Highland, was fierce. Otherwise, we would have won the 1980 elections. Wiltshire didn’t understand then, and he still seems not to understand, now. But he was a pioneer in pushing for African Liberation and I will salute him for that.
Many of us did not fully understand Wilshire’s political aspiration.Piere CHARLES contested election for M.N.D.and won.He belonged to M N D,he should stay there or help Wilshire build a party that is directed at educating the people differently butwas allured by Rosie to jump on LabourThat move was spontaneous.piere death still remains a mysteryI hope ur have no plans to contest for labour because u will be the most unlikely person in this position
The 1973 Funk CITY FESTIVAL was the first huge festival inthe sout.GRAMMACKS, SIMPLE SEVEN, WOODENSTOOL,EVERY MOTHER’CHILD,BLACK MARCHINE, MIDNIGHT GROOVERS,STANNY,PARTO,ALLEN AND UZEB, SOUT STARS STEEL OCHESTRA.MRS.DELSOL gave the opening speech.Ma boy rain was pouring enormouslybut the stream of strangerswerepouring more excessively.Sout Man,Clairevoya,this is the event that open the doors these promotions u see today.After adeep discussionthat Isidore Night,we said no funk City ,it is sout city.That’s how Sout City emerged.The group was Billards and don’t say it was Lowen.
Dam, I going to miss that. Isidore, Isidore, bo’w bo’w. Isidore c’est rectimant! Good ole days! Have fun, my fellow Grand Bayrians. I’ll be in Canada caneeying!
I will be dere,grandbay u large,wish bath estate the community of parros and drug addicts follow in you all foot steps
you something else mehson so u stop give grand barians talks now u on bath estate back now
ya, any place Shatta’s drug deals went bad, he on dere back.
i in dat
pay the artists that you all ripoff,stop stealing the profits.
want to know about people who organized festivals etc and kept the profits go back to 1973 on the newton savannah ask a certain booboo foot aging guy.