Not since the celebration of independence, has Saint Lucia witnessed the national colours – blue, gold, black and white, all over town.
Well, maybe Darren Sammy and the King’s recent CPL victory are partly to be blamed.
However truth be told, since Julien Alfred scorched the 100 m track at the summer Olympics in August to take the gold and later silver, the sense of national pride has perhaps never been so prevalent.
With the recent announcement that Alfred will be coming home on September 24 to a welcome fit for a queen and September 27 declared ‘Julien Alfred Day’ , a national holiday, the excitement has been rising steadily.
In disclosing some of the planned activities, Urelis Delaire, PS in the ministry of youth development and sports said that starting this week the entire route that Alfred will traverse when she arrives, will be emblazoned with billboards and posters.
Several businesses have also been erecting their own billboards and other paraphernalia in preparation.
Delaire also commented on the question of having official Julien Alfred T-shirts for sale.
“The business community has been putting out a lot of shirts; we do not want to take that away from them. It’s a time for all Saint Lucians to make a little, thrive economically, so I don’t think we should compete with the other business out there who are selling shirts,” she responded.
Several small businesses in Castries and Vieux Fort have been cashing in.
One vendor in Castries who goes by the name of Josephine told us that her shirts have been going like hot bread.
“We started selling shirts about two weeks ago and let me tell you we have gotten a lot of support especially from parents buying them for their children,” she revealed.
One outlet in Vieux Fort has been producing shirts on demand, and advertising on social media.
“So far it has been going very well,” the business owner told us.
Some businesses were also advertising ‘Julien Alfred sales’ and special discounts.
Not to be left out of the race, a number of Saint Lucian artistes have released Julien Alfred tribute songs.
Among them reggae artiste Lady Stone, based in United States had the song “Small Packages,” released last month.
Shorn B’s “You are the one,” inspirational singer Wilburne’s “Believe in yourself,” and dancehall singer Kelly B’s “Julien Alfred,” are among the contributions.
Former Calypso monarch TC Brown is also paying homage to Alfred with “Mesi Juju” a tribute song in Kweyol.
Less we forget, even while Alfred was heading off to the Olympics, the songs started coming.
One of Calypso Monarch Dezral’s winning songs had predicted that Alfred would be coming out guns blazing in his song “The Biggest Gun”.
And of course, the official or unofficial anthem (depending on the person to whom you speak) is Groovy Monarch Sly’s “Damn Proud Lucian,” which describes how every Saint Lucian at home and abroad feels right now.
