Award- winning writer and actor, Winston Farrell will be honouring the late Kamau Brathwaite with his performance Rites
On World Poetry Day, We Gatherin Secretariat in collaboration with The Division of Culture- Prime Minister’s Office and PoeTree Barbados will be hosting a World Poetry Day Celebration at Rock Hall Freedom Village, St Thomas on March 21st, 2025.
The event shall commence at 7pm and will have stellar performances from NIFCA Gold Awardee and Prime Minister’s Awardee, Winston Farrell, three-time National Independence Festival of Creative Arts Gold Awardee, Stonedwithcupid, Damani Re, Sandra Sealy, Malachi Hope, Ariel Hamilton, Taitu Heron, Atiba Sealy-Thompson, Kiru Blvk, Zoe Sunshine, Timon Howard, Negus Knots, Ashley Serieux, Keoma Mallett, SamSounds and La Shawna Griffith.
Chairman of St. Thomas Parish Organizing Committee Kevyn Henry said this event celebrates the historical significance of Rock Hall Freedom Village.
In addition to the poetic performances there will be a special tribute to Kamau Brathwaite which will be done by Winston Farrell and the presentation of the 8th PoeTree Barbados Griot Award to Adisa Aja Andwele for his contribution to rhythm poetry.
“We are delighted to have this as a part of our events in St. Thomas. Poetry has always been a form of our expression and to have this event at Rock Hall which is one of the first free villages in Barbados located here in St. Thomas. It is our pleasure to have such powerful poetic presentations a mere few days before International Day of The Remembrance of the Transatlantic slave trade which is held annually on the 25th March. We want to invite persons to come out and enjoy the space, the parish and the poetry and embrace the freedom that rock hall lends and represents,” he said.
The Creative Director for the event, Akeem Chandler-Prescod said that as it is World Poetry Day, he wanted to ensure that the lineup celebrates poets from all age groups, and all experience levels.
“As it is World Poetry Day, I wanted that the celebration not only pays homage to the poets who have laid the foundation in the artform such as Kamau Brathwaite and Adisa Aja Andwele but also to showcase the beauty of the spoken word as an oral tradition. Thus, to this end, on the night we will be including poets from all social demographics who package and present their poetry in a unique original way,” he said.
The event which is part of the We Gatherin celebrations for St. Thomas under the theme of Nature is free and open to all members of the public. There will be no parking at Rock Hall Freedom Village, but persons can take advantage of the free park and ride service which is available from St. Thomas Parish Church from 6pm.
For more information persons can follow @wegatherinbarbados on Instagram.
(PR)