Antigua and Barbuda’s 43rd Independence Day Celebrations in Toronto a success

Antigua and Barbuda’s 43rd Independence Day Celebrations in Toronto a success

Antigua and Barbuda’s 43rd Independence Day was celebrated in Toronto through the Antigua and Barbuda Association of Toronto, with the support of the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority (Canada office).

The sold-out gala took place on November 9th, 2024 at the Viceroy Banquet Hall in Toronto with live performances by Claudette “CP” Peters and the Disturbance band that brought the night alive.

Opening the event was a respectful twist on the National Anthem as it was eloquently and rhythmically recited by Safiya Airall, rather than sung.

Keeping the gathering entertainment throughout the night was the Master of Ceremonies, Charmain Bailey.

The Hon. Harold Lovell, who has been a guest lecturer at the University of Toronto over the past semester, also made an appearance. He congratulated the awardees of the night and encouraged the Antiguan and Barbudan youth at the event to “keep on keeping on” and to “raise the standard, raise it boldly”.

One of the three awardees of the evening, Mitzi Allen of HaMafilms Antigua, delivered the keynote address. As she contemplated the theme of Antigua and Barbuda’s 43rd Independence, ‘From Community Collaboration to Global Gains’, she explained that when she returned to Antigua and Barbuda from working as a journalist in Canada, she felt she could “make a meaningful contribution to nation-building”.\

She remarked that in the “30-plus years” she’s lived and worked in Antigua and Barbuda, “an often underestimated aspect of nation building [is] the role of community work”. She then asserted that “nation-building is noust about governance, infrastructure or economic growth. It’s about cultivating a collective identity rooted in shared values, culture, and community.”

Other awardees of the night were Joy Lapps and Rodman George from Barbuda. Joy Lapps, is an internationally lauded artist, and composer who is of Antiguan and Barbudan descent. known for using the steelpan as a tool for engagement in community building and creative expression.

Rodman George, also known as Uncle Roddy, opened Uncle Roddy’s eco-friendly beach bar in Barbuda in 2005, the first of its kind, powered by solar panels. Although Rodman is now retired, the legacy of Uncle Roddy lives on through his daughter who manages the beach bar since rebuilding it after Hurricane Irma in 2017.

Several persons were on the receiving end of door prizes from the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority, with the big draw of the night being a stay-for-two at one of the Elite Island Resorts’ hotels in Antigua.

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