As part of the activities being organized this year, to celebrate the 52nd anniversary of the Independence of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, there shall be the hosting of the Guyana Independence Food and Drink Festival 2018.
Promoters are promising that the event will be a mega epicurean escape and cultural extravaganza set for Sunday, May 27, 2018 at the Carifesta Sports Complex, Carifesta Avenue, Thomas Lands, Georgetown, commencing at 2.00 p.m. (1400hrs). A special call is being made to persons across Guyana with the experience, expertise and ability to produce local beverages such as freshly squeezed fruit juices, mauby, sorrel, ginger beer, fly, cane juice, peanut punch, “shave ice”, coconut water, herbal and ‘bush teas’ and local wines, along with those proficient in preparing indigenous delicacies including cassava pone, sugar-cake, black and white pudding, phulourie, conkie, sirnee, satwa, barfi, rasgulla, souse, cheese rolls, pine tarts (pineapple tarts), patties, other pastries, fudge, mithai, salara, corn bread, bara, coconut choka, jalebi, karhee, custard blocks, ice creams and tamarind balls.
Calls are also being made for Guyanese culinary favourites such as pepperpot, curry and roti, dhal puri, gulab jamun, parasad, kheer, cookup rice, stews, metemgee, crab and other soups, etc. to attend a special stakeholder meeting slated to be held on Monday May 7, 2018 at 10.30 a.m. at the Carifesta Sports Complex (Formerly Guyana National Service Sports Ground), Carifesta Avenue, Thomas Lands, Georgetown. This meeting is for the purpose of holding discussions between the celebrate Guyana Organizing Committee and interested vendors, regarding details of their possible participation in the aforementioned upcoming Guyanese gastronomic and cultural event that is being held under the distinguished patronage of the Ministry of the Presidency, Department of Social Cohesion, Culture, Youth and Sport.
The festival, which is also being held in support of the resurgence of Guyana’s once vibrant cottage industries, is keen to facilitate the participation of small vendors, homemakers with culinary skill, and also persons with proficiency in preparing authentic Amerindian dishes such as Casiri or Paiwari, casareep and cassava bread using traditional utensils such as cassava graters, matapees and tawas, and also individuals with the expertise in preparing wild meats such as labba, deer, or curried iguana, and producers of sauces, seasonings, salted fish, Heart of Palm, concentrates, jams and jellies, honey, achar, and spices, etc. This Guyanese culinary and cultural extravaganza to be held under the tagline: “A Guyanese Celebration, A Guyanese Experience, A Guyanese Community, shall showcase a spectacular range of our indigenous food, drink and culture”.
