Everton Blender of Jamaica and Awa Sangho the Grammy nominee from Mali are among the international stars who will light up the 2015 Emancipation stage. They will be joined by a number of top local and regional artistes, including Queen Ifrica and Duane Stephenson during this year’s commemoration of the 177th anniversary of Emancipation.
This was one of the exciting announcements made as the committee publicly launched its program of events for 2015, a release said. Executive member of the committee Hazel Simonette-Herndon using video and graphics presented the upcoming events indicating a range of activities from June 13, the Day of the Yoruba Drum Festival to August 2 when the Emancipation Village comes to a close.
The ever popular Emancipation Day street procession, the Kambule takes place on Emancipation day on August 1, as usual.
The calendar of events for this year’s observances includes the Labour Day launch of the Kwame Ture Memorial Lecture Series. Featured speaker is Wale Idris Ajibade, founder and executive director of African Views Organisation. He is the convener and facilitator of a global African Leadership tele-forum.
Ajibade, will speak at the Central Bank auditorium, and will address his T&T audience on Global Africa: Unlocking the Future through Culture and Technology. The KTML series closes with the Forum on Africa and its Diaspora on July 28, with an exciting mix of intellectuals, decision makers and activists examining today’s Africa.
Making a return to the events calendar is the fashion extravaganza, titled Qurux Africa, which is scheduled for July 5 at Normandie Under the Trees, St Ann’s.
The show will have a combination of a number of T&T’s and Africa’s top designers and upcoming designers such as Lecthris Holder, Kathleen Derrick and Aseefa Martin.
Given the range of activities that make up the celebration, Simonnette–Herndon could only highlight a few, including the Blessing of the Ground on July 26 before the July 29 grand opening of the Lidj Yasu Omowale Emancipation Village.
The Village promises to entice patrons with its ever popular international market place. During the period between the opening of the Village and its close there will be the awe-some Youth Day followed by the Pan Night on July 30 and the Pan African Spectacular concert on the night of July 31. This will be preceded as usual by the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Symposium on the same day at the Hilton.
Early morning August 1, the reenactment of the Proclamation of Emancipation—a play titled Freedom Morning Come, written by Poet Laureate Eintou Springer will bring history to life and prepare participants for the traditional Kambule to the Village where there will be live performances.