Thirty-five years of political independence is an historical milestone that Vincentians everywhere proudly celebrated this year.

Those living and working in Bermuda hosted a programme of activities from October 23 to 27 to commemorate the occasion, which, according to spokesperson Stephen Diamond, “was also a timely reminder of our homeland’s achievements and caused us to reflect on these and many other things that concern us as a Vincentian people”.{{more}}

The celebrations got underway with Vincentian Folklore and Heritage Night on October 23, which “presented another opportunity to further expose others to information on St Vincent and the Grenadines, our rich history and our culture.”

Games Night was hosted on October 24, which featured table games such as dominoes, scrabble, draught and card games. However, the highlight of the night was the traditional Vincentian ring games like Gouti Under Dey, Ah Pan Ah Pan, Brown Girl in the Ring and Who Stole the Cookie.

According to Diamond, “many of the offspring – Bermudans born to Vincentian parents, attended these activities and participated fully. For them, it was quite an experience that they welcomed and expressed interest in seeing future events being put on that will give them more than just a taste of things Vincy.”

Saturday, October 25 was dubbed ‘Carry Yo Own Key’ and Movie Night; then on Sunday, October 26, Vincentians in Bermuda joined members of the Cobbs Hill Gospel Chapel for worship.

Decked out in their Vincy T-shirts, they assembled and marched into the church with the national flag of St Vincentian and the Grenadines. Their host and officiating minister was Pastor Edward Richardson, who hails from Richland Park and his wife Everette from Freeland, Mesopotamia, who has lived in Bermuda for over 40 years and recently retired as a principal.

Pastor Richardson delivered an inspiring sermon on the theme, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to a people,” during which he urged the congregation to love one another.

The celebrations continued that night with a culinary affair that featured Vincentian cuisine, and the raising of the national flag at midnight.

The Vincies in Bermuda group has hailed the celebrations a success, and hope to have bigger better Independence celebrations next year. The group is already putting together plans for 2015.