Green Turtle Cay festival educates and entertains
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Green Turtle Cay, Abaco has taken the festival experience to a new level with its emphasis on cultural education. The island of 450 residents recently celebrated the 8th Annual Island Roots Heritage Festival, which was created to bring two sister cities together – the New Plymouth settlement in Green Turtle Cay, Abaco and Key West, Florida.
Conceptualized in 1977, the festival has developed over time as a result of a number of Green Turtle Cay residents relocating to Key West. Each year, the event has a different theme, and this year’s edition focused on the African heritage of The Bahamas.
Festival Committee Chairperson, Mrs. Karen McIntosh said, “It is the committee’s hope that through our various presentations this weekend, developing our African heritage theme, that people come to realize that there was life and a very rich history, before and after those horrific centuries of slavery.”
“We focus on the positive influences as we celebrate ‘Africa, the birthplace of humanity’. We must understand and rejoice that there is so much to be proud of as we celebrate the enduring African spirit and how positive the African influence has been on us as a Bahamian people.”
Educulture pioneer, Arlene Nash-Ferguson, was among the list of participants to feature education and culture. Her Junkanoo Museum showcased beautiful costumes, Junkanoo history, and gave children the opportunity to learn how to paste and play various instruments, such as the conch shell, goat skin drum and cow bells.
As part of the informative discussions featured at the two-day event, Mrs. Nash-Ferguson also gave a Power-Point presentation on the history of Junkanoo.
When asked about the significance of the theme of this festival, she said, “Over the centuries [with] years of colonialism and other forces we have been almost deliberately taught to deny those things that spring from us and are of us, so this celebration is especially important because it lets all Bahamians know that we all have a very strong heritage and regardless of what our background is, we need to be very proud of it.”
Mrs. Nash-Ferguson has two ongoing programs for school children, which include a ride and learn tour and a Junkanoo workshop. Nearly 500 school children from Abaco, Nassau and Freeport attended the festival.
In addition to tasty native dishes, drinks and authentic Bahamian products, other highlights of the 8th Annual Island Roots
