Christmas festivities 2016 to be launched this Sunday

The 2016 SVG Christmas/Nine Mornings Festival will be officially launched this Sunday, December 11 from 6 p.m. at Heritage Square.

The programme will begin with the traditional lighted street parade, featuring the Police Band, Cadet Corps Band, Sion Hill Euphonium Steel Orchestra, X-Pan, String Bands, Rose Bank Boom Drum and the Rose Hall Drummers. This will be followed by a Community Christmas concert and the lighting of Heritage Square.{{more}}

During the parade, the various communities participating in the festival will vie for: Best Community on Parade. They will be judged on: uniformity of costumes, use of traditional lights and music, quality of presentation and size of contingent. The winning community will earn $2,000.

The Community Christmas concert will begin with a special word for the nation by Pastor Gilbert Porter of the Belair New Testament Church. This will be followed by an innovation this year: the Best Community Song Competition, in which participating villages in the festival will sing a song about Christmas in their community, with the winner receiving $1,500.

Cecil Mc Kie, Minister of Tourism Sports and Culture is expected to declare the festival open, following which there is the lighting of Heritage Square. The launch is being held under the theme: “2016 – The Best Ever”.

The Nine Mornings festivities, which are unique to St Vincent and the Grenadines, will be staged across the country from December 16 to 24. But throughout the month of December there are also concerts, carolling contests and other activities celebrating the Christmas season.