Bridgetown will be aglow with blue and yellow lights for the next 29 days as activities kick into high gear to mark 46 years of nationhood.
Julian Brooks, a student at the Irving Wilson School, flicked the switch to turn on the lights in Heroes Square last night. He was witnessed by Governor General Sir Elliott Belgrave, Minister of Culture Stephen Lashley, Member of Parliament for The City Patrick Todd, other officials and members of the public.
This Independence glow will spread to the north and south of the country for the first time this year, with lighting ceremonies at the Speightstown Esplanade, St Peter, and Gall Hill, Christ Church today and Saturday respectively.
Yesterday’s ceremony was followed by a Bajan Folk Brew, featuring quadruple crown monarch Mikey, Adrian Clarke and others.
Lashley told the audience that Independence was a state of mind.
“Independence has to be understood in relation to how we see ourselves, how we see our families, how we see our country. The extent to which we are prepared to accept responsibility for our own lives. It is true that in today’s world, sometimes referred to now as the ”global village”, there is growing inter-dependency.
“For us as individuals it is our responsibility to avoid being dependent on others. Our children, our homes, our faith, our health, our work ethic – as we mature, we should accept that these are all our responsibility. We must not sit and wait for others to do things for us,” Lashley said.
People who came out to witness the lighting up and the accompanying fireworks were entertained by saxophonist Joseph Callender, Azzi Clarke, New Dimensions Eaglets and CiCi, who ended that segment with Beautiful Barbados. (YB)
