WIADCA keeps Caribbean culture alive
WIADCA executive, L-R: Cecille Ford (secretary, Trinidad and Tobago); Angela Sealy (chairperson, Trinidad and
Tobago); Dr. Ionie Pierce (president, Jamaica); Annie Rhea Smith (fi rst vice president, Trinidad and Tobago); and
Karen Williams (treasurer, Trinidad and Tobago).at the 2018 launching ceremony of the Carnival Parade at the
Brooklyn Children’s Museum. Photo by Nelson A. King
Guyanese get ready to begin independence celebrations in NY
Caribbean Life, A BQ pril 26–May 2, 2019 3
By Nelson A. King
The Guyana Independence Celebration
Committee, New York (GICCNY),
said on Monday that it is getting
ready to host the New York celebration
of Guyana’s 53rd Anniversary of
Independence this year.
This year’s celebration theme is
“Fan the Flame of Guyanese Patriotism.”
GICCNY said the New York celebration
is “Guyana’s largest independence
commemoration outside
of Guyana.
“Thousands of Guyanese from
the New York City tristate area and
throughout North America flock
Brooklyn annually for the independence
festivities,” GICCNY said. “This
outpouring of support has grown the
event into the second largest Caribbean
celebration in New York City,
after the Labor Day Parade.”
The organization’s website, celebrateGuyanainnyc.
com has received
more than five million visits since
2016.
The overall commemoration commences
with the Consul General’s
interfaith service at York College in
Queens on May 19, followed by the
Consul General’s official ceremony
on May 24.
GICCNY said it will host a youth
symposium on May 27, at Medgar
Evers College, under the theme “Our
Youth: Moving Guyana Forward.”
The main celebration will take
place on Sunday, June 2. It comprises
the annual Guyanese Independence
Parade on Church Avenue in
Brooklyn, followed by the Flag Raising
Ceremony and after parade Unity
Concert at a venue to be announced.
GICCNY said the parade will be led
by members of the Guyana Defense
Force (GDF), the Guyana Police
By Nelson A. King
The Brooklyn-based West Indian
American Day Carnival Association
(WIADCA), which hosts the annual Carnival
Parade on Eastern Parkway every
Labor Day Monday, says it is keeping
the region’s culture alive by hosting
year-round workshops on the artform.
“West Indian American Day Carnival
is a creative and artistic expression,
public display and joyous occasion,”
said Dr. Ionie Pierce, WIADCA’s Jamaican
born president in a Caribbean Life
interview on Tuesday, April 23.
“It gives me a sense of joy and pride
knowing that the organization’s yearround
series of workshops, concerts
and annual Labor Day Parade can bring
people with different beliefs, traditions
and artistic expression together under
the banner of education, pride, community
and identity,” added Dr. Pierce,
who created history last year when she
was elected as the first non-Trinidadian
to head WIADCA.
“It is also fulfilling that the organization
can educate the world on the
many different Caribbean cultural art
forms through our series of programs,
which includes Basic, Intermediate and
Advance Wire Bending Workshops,
Youth Steel Band Workshops, Carnival
Design Workshops, Businesses and Artists
Pilot Programs, as well as summerlong
series of Pop-Up Carnivals,” Dr.
Pierce continued.
She said certificates of completion
are presented to every participant on
completion of each workshop.
“I share the participants’ excitement
and sense of pride as they showcase
their weeks of hard work during the
graduation ceremonies,” Pierce said. “I
feel gratified knowing that we are keeping
a culture that is dying alive.”
She said the West Indian American
Day Carnival and Parade is the largest
carnival in North America.
Pierce said workshop participants
come from as far as Japan, Canada,
Europe, various Caribbean islands, and
“all over United States.”
“The organization benefits from
this in that it creates revenue for the
organization, so that it can continue
its cause, as well as revenue for the
state,” Pierce said. “Being able to give
back to the community through its
workshops, pilot programs and pop-op
carnivals, and also scholarships to art
and cultural freshmen, the organization
is recognized for supporting the
community, gain credibility and publicity,
and align itself to receive grants and
sponsorships.”
The WIADCA head said the purpose
of the Wire Bending Workshop is
to “relay cultural traditions passed on
through generations, explore creative
and new entrepreneurial opportunities,
and create community camaraderie,
tolerance and understanding for this
dying art form.”
Pierce said the Youth Steel band
Workshop is designed to promote and
teach discipline, musical arts and cultural
identity.
“The objective of the workshop is
to teach awareness, appreciation and
understanding of instrument and its
impact on Caribbean culture,” she said.
The Artist Pilot Program is aimed
at developing partnerships with local
artists, businesses and organizations
within the community.
“Our aim is to introduce a pilot program
to help establishments prosper
year-round and to better cultivate relationships
with vendors,” Pierce said.
She said the Senior Carnival Design
workshop cultivates “new programs
and opportunities for this dynamic
generation of older adults, whilst activating
cultural pride, participation,
creativity, strengthening of mental
health and wellness, teaching core cul-
Part of the massive audience at the New York Guyanese independence celebration
last year. GICCNY
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