Plans are far advanced for a civic ceremony to commemorate the 129th anniversary of the birth of National Hero, the Right Excellent Sir Alexander Bustamante, on February 24.
The event will be held in Blenheim, Hanover, the birthplace of the National Hero.
Members of the planning committee, comprising representatives from the Hanover Parish Council and the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC), Hanover office, met on Wednesday (January 16) to fine-tune plans for the ceremony.
In an interview with JIS News following the meeting, JCDC Field Services Director, Marjorie Vernon, pointed out that this year’s event will be held on a Sunday, and as such will take on a different flavour from previous years.
“This year the birthday falls on a Sunday, and so there will be a remembrance service in honour of the Right Excellent Sir Alexander Bustamante,” she noted.
She pointed out that the remembrance service will start at 12 noon, and is expected to last for a maximum of two hours. This, she said, will allow persons to attend their regular Sunday morning services and then to attend the national event.
Mrs. Vernon said that although the ceremony will take the form of a church service, the usual cultural aspect of the annual observance will not be missing.
“Certainly the celebration will still have the traditional and cultural flavours that Jamaicans have come to expect,” she said.
The Field Services Director had high praise for the private sector support that the event has received annually.