Creole Heritage Month Launched

Creole Heritage Month, celebrated here in October, was launched on Sunday at the Bexon playing field.

While three communities will host the main activities this year, organisers have urged every community and business place to participate.

Sunday’s event saw committee members of the three host communities, Dennery, Mon Repos, and Anse La Raye, offering more insight into what they will offer from the beginning of October until Jounen Kweyol on Sunday, October 27, 2024.

The Hills and Valleys Events Committee organised the launch in collaboration with the Monsignor Patrick Anthony Folk Research Centre.

It started with a church service at 8 am at the Most Sacred Heart of Mary Church in Bexon.

Activities continued on the playing field opposite the church, including greasy pig, children’s games, and folk performances in song and dance.

Popular local entertainers such as Black Pearl and Yonachak engaged those in attendance, who also had an array of local food and drink to choose from.

The legendary Midnight Groovers of Dominica closed off the event.
Minister for Tourism, Investment, Culture. Creative Industry and Broadcasting, Ernest Hilaire, who spoke to St. Lucia Times at the launch, said this was just a taste of what will come.

“Today symbolizes the launch of Kweyol Heritage month and of course as you know every October we celebrate our Kweyol history, the food, the drinks, the festivities, the culture and our own passion for our Creoleness,” Hilaire said.

“This month will be another exciting celebration, with the grand finale on international Creole day. So we are encouraging every Saint Lucian, to be a part of the celebration, we are encouraging business places to have their own creole celebrations, to decorate their businesses. I am a big supporter and proponent  of all communities being invited to celebrate creole heritage month, so I am looking forward to the celebrations from the traditional games to the La Wen Kweyol and so much more that is happening this year,” he went on to say.

This is the 40th observance of Jounen Kweyol in Saint Lucia, arguably one of the most pervasive cultural events here.

Activities are typically held in communities, schools, business places, hotels, and even private homes.

Jounen Kweyol features include Kweyol songs, traditional dances, and games, the preparation of traditional food, and clothing made from madras and other traditional wear.