The contribution of culture and heritage to Barbados’ historical development will come into sharp focus during Heritage Month, which commences today, Saturday, June 1, as part of the activities for the Season of Emancipation.
The official launch of activities under the theme: Celebrating and Preserving Our Heritage, will be held at Tyrol Cot Heritage Village, Codrington Hill, St. Michael, starting at 5:30 p.m.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office with responsibility for Culture, Senator Dr. Shantal Munro-Knight, will deliver an address at the launch, which will also feature the presentation of awards to five persons who have contributed to the preservation of Barbados’ heritage.
During the month, the Barbados Museum and Historical Society will host a public lecture on the topic: Newton Uncovered: Exploring the 21st Century Legacy of the Enslaved Burial Ground at Newton on Thursday, June 13. The lecture will be delivered by Dr. Misha Ewen, starting at 6:00 p.m., via Zoom. Interested persons may click the link to join the lecture.
Other activities will be the Plantation Estates bus tour on Saturday, June 8, and the Petticoat Plantocracy Lecture Series bus tour on Friday, June 14. Boarding commences at 8:30 a.m. at the Museum and departs at 9:00 a.m. for both tours.
The Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. will host A Night with the Modern-Day Griots on Wednesday, June 26, at the Courtney Blackman Grande Salle, Tom Adams Financial Centre, Church Village, The City, starting at 7:00 p.m.
In addition, the National Library Service will be hosting a number of activities, including an exhibition under the theme: Celebrating Black Barbadian Women in Business Past and Present. This will be supported by a panel discussion on the same topic on Friday, June 28, at the Courtney Blackman Grande Salle, Tom Adams Financial Centre, starting at 7:00 p.m.
Other activities on the cards during the month include Bajan Stories – Remember When, an oral history project hosted jointly by the National Library Service and the Division of Culture Prime Minister’s Office, at which the public is invited to call into the Division of Culture to book interviews and share their stories; Heritage Roadshow Pop-Ups in Bridgetown and Speightstown; and a public lecture by the Coastal Zone Management Unit on the theme: Our Coastal Zone: It’s History, Heritage and Management, at the Clock Tower, The Garrison, St. Michael, on Wednesday, June 19, starting at 6:30 p.m.
The Barbados National Trust’s Mix and Mingle fundraiser at the Mill at Morgan Lewis, St. Andrew, takes place on Saturday, June 15, beginning at noon.
Activities for the month will wind down on Saturday, June 22, with a heritage concert titled Something in the Music, Our Culture, Our Heritage, at St. Mary’s Anglican Church, The City, starting at 5:30 p.m.; an Antiques Fair in Golden Square Freedom Park, The City on Sunday, June 23, starting at 12:00 p.m., and a heritage month church service, also at St. Mary’s, on Sunday, June 30.
Senior Cultural Policy Officer in the Division of Culture and the Focal Point for Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison, Dr. Sheron Johnson, said the month would place emphasis on Barbados’ shared heritage by focusing on community engagement and public education.
This focus, she added, is in keeping with the 1972 UNESCO Convention for the Protection of the World Heritage Convention while raising the profile of the significance of Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison – Barbados’ first UNESCO World Heritage inscribed property and its industrial heritage. (PR/GIS)
