Nine Mornings festival begins

The National Nine Mornings celebrations kicked off last Saturday with significant crowd support.

And with multiple festivities lined up to continue throughout this week in different communities throughout the country, there is much for locals and visitors to experience.

The chair of the National Nine Mornings Committee Michael Peters said all of the venues experienced good attendance on the first morning, wherein people of all ages came out to see the street concerts and participate in the events.

“It was quite good in the spirit of Nine Mornings and folks enjoyed themselves; people came out in very large numbers. Large crowds attending the various Nine Mornings festivities on the leeward, on the windward, in the Mesopotamia Valley.”

Peters said he believes this is because of the pride that Vincentians have for Nine Mornings as a festival of their own.

“People want to ensure that we continue to have Nine Mornings in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), so folks are very supportive of the Nine Mornings activities.”

He further attributes it to the attention placed in making the festival one for all ages.

“We try to create an environment both on and off stage, in which everyone can feel comfortable and as such… people have been coming out and bringing their children.”

The Nine Mornings festivities, he says, are not only being held in Kingstown, but there are many rural communities which are also having activities over the period December 16 to December 24. He listed some of these communities as Fitz-Hughes, Rosehall, Troumaca, Barrouallie, Richland Park, Carriere, Point Village, Stubbs, among others. Not only are these communities having morning activities, but they will also feature evening activities in some cases.

Today, Lauders is hosting a ‘Bring Things and Roast’ and tomorrow Rosehall will have a ‘Night of Choirs’ event at 7 p.m.

The communities are each supposed to put their own spin on the festivities, Peters said.

“Each community has its own tradition and the sort of activities that they do. For example, if you go to Stubbs you would get a lot of drama; if you go to Point Village and Owia you would get a lot of traditions and storytelling and games; if you go to Carriere and Richland Park, their activities are centered around being an agriculture community.”

Particularly exciting for the committee is the fact that this year, Nine Mornings activities will be held for the first time on a Sunday, Christmas Eve.

“For the first time, we have Christmas Eve falling on a Sunday, so we decided we’re going to have a Nine Mornings this year on that particular morning,” Peters said.

He further says they intend to have a special Nine Mornings in Kingstown called ‘Christmas in the Square’.

However, Peters also said that the activities are not something that can be described, but must be experienced.

“It is something that you can’t talk about; you have to experience it,” he said.

“It’s an experience that you will always remember. It remains an experience which Vincentians can cherish.”(KR)