[xml][/xml]
The Bahamas Weekly Facebook The Bahamas Weekly Twitter
News : International Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM


Genesis Junkanoo performance highlights Bahamas Independence celebrations in D.C.
By Oswald Brown
Jul 12, 2015 - 9:05:11 PM

Email this article
 Mobile friendly page
DSC_0023.jpg
His Excellency Dr. Eugene Newry, welcoming guests to the 42nd anniversary celebrations of the Bahamas’ attainment of independence reception in the ballroom of the Hyatt in Bethesda, Maryland, on Friday evening, July 10. Pictured behind him is Mrs. Paulette Zonicle, Bahamas Ambassador to the United States. Also pictured are Ms. Faith Maycock, Vice Consul, Bahamas Embassy Consular Annex, and Miss Krissy Hanna, Second Secretary, Bahamas Embassy.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The ballroom of the Hyatt in Bethesda, Maryland, reverberated with the pulsating rhythm of Junkanoo on Friday evening, July 10, 2015, as Bahamians in the diaspora were joined by a well-represented cross-section of diplomats and members of the Washington, D.C., business community in celebrating the 42nd anniversary of The Bahamas’ attainment of independence from Great Britain.

His Excellency Dr. Eugene Newry, Bahamas Ambassador to the United States, and Mrs. Paulette Zonicle, Bahamas Consul General to Washington, D.C., welcomed guests to the first of three events planned by the Embassy of The Bahamas to celebrate that historic occasion on July 10, 1973, when the British Flag, the Union Jack, was lowered for the final time and the new aquamarine, gold and black flag of The Bahamas was slowly and majestically raised on a flag pole at Clifford Park.

DSC_0090.jpg
Genesis Junkanoo group performing at the 42nd anniversary celebrations of the Bahamas’ attainment of independence reception in the ballroom of the Hyatt in Bethesda, Maryland, on Friday evening, July 10.

With Miss Krissy Hanna, Second Secretary at the Bahamas Embassy, serving Mistress of Ceremony, the evening’s official program also included the reading of independence messages from Her Excellency Governor General Dame Margueritte Pindling and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Fred Mitchell by Ms. Faith Maycock, Vice Consul at the Bahamas Embassy Consular Annex, and a message from Prime Minister Perry Christie by Mr. Mikhail Bullard, Third Secretary at the Bahamas Embassy.

The evening also included an art exhibition featuring the works of Mrs. Marie Wallace Parham, a Bahamian who lives in Maryland, and several works by noted Bahamian artist Jamal Rolle.

Guests enjoyed an array of culinary delights with a distinct Bahamian theme, prepared by the Hyatt’s Executive Chief Jack Stubbs, a Bahamian National, and his staff. They were also treated to a fantastic show by Dillion (D-MAC) McKenzie, the popular Bahamian entertainer.

DSC_0035.jpg
WASHINGTON. D.C. -- Two members of Bahamas National Independence Committee, Arlene Nash Ferguson and Patricia Bazard, were in the group that came from Nassau for the events held by the Bahamas Embassy to celebrate the 42nd anniversary of the Bahamas’ attainment of independence from Great Britain. They are pictured at the reception held in the ballroom of the Hyatt in Bethesda, Maryland, on Friday evening, July 10, 2015, with His Excellency Dr. Eugene Newry, Bahamas Ambassador to the United States, and his wife, Mrs. Francois Torchon Newry. Pictured from left to right are Ms. Stephanie Hamilton, Ms. Bazard, Ambassador Newry, Mrs. Newry, Mrs. Ferguson, and Mr. Silbert Ferguson.

But unquestionably, the highlight of the evening was the spectacular Junkanoo performance by 19 members of the Genesis Junkanoo group, headed by Owen Stubbs, that closed out the evening.

Two members of Bahamas National Independence Committee, Arlene Nash Ferguson and Patricia Bazard, were also in the group that came from Nassau for the event.

On Saturday afternoon scores of Bahamians and friends of The Bahamas continued the country’s independence celebrations at a picnic held on the grounds of the U.S. Coast Guard Base in Alexandria, Virginia, where the Genesis Group again performed.

On Sunday morning an independence church service was held at the Greater Mount Calvary Holy Church, 610 Rhode Island Avenue, N.E., in D.C., where the guest speaker was Bishop Tejado Hanchell, a Bahamian national.

Bookmark and Share




© Copyright 2015 by thebahamasweekly.com

Top of Page

Receive our Top Stories



Preview | Powered by CommandBlast

International
Latest Headlines
PM Davis congratulates Miss Teenager Bahamas Flonique Lightbourn
Minister of State Rahming at UN 66th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women
Prince William and The Earthshot Prize Winners and Finalists take centre stage on Day 2 at COP26
Jamaica’s agro-processing sector being enhanced by joint CDB, EU, JBDC project
OAS General Secretariat on the Assassination of the President of Haiti