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lined the barricades and were armed with flags, rags – anything
to wave – as the Jamaican artistes came on stage one after the
other. Here, the sun shone brightly on these worshippers as they had
a spirit-filled time praising the Lord. (MF)
The energetic Praise
Academy Of Barbados didn't disappoint, with reverent dance moves
to Clap Your Hands (also the name of the dance). They received a warm
response from the crowd.
Barbados Gospelfest was established in 1993 by the
Barbados Tourist Board (BTB). The festival was the brainchild of the
then Minister of Tourism Wes Hall, now Rev. Wes Hall. The first event
was a joint production between the Barbados Tourist Board and Mr.
Alvin Jones of the USA. The parties brought Dr. Bobby Jones of Bobby
Jones Gospel on board and this arrangement gave the festival and Barbados
exposure to the international gospel community through its airing
on Dr. Jones’ television program on Black Entertainment Television
(BET).
From its inception top international Gospel artistes participated.
These included, Dorothy Norwood, James Moore, Ben Tankard, Douglas
Miller and then emerging talent, Yolanda Adams and Kirk Franklin.
In 1995 the responsibility for the production of the festival was
passed on to the Gospelfest Organising Committee made up of persons
from the Christian community who had been involved in the planning
for the first two years. The committee was chaired by Barbadian event
manager Adrian Agard. In 2003 Gospelfest (Barbados) Inc. was incorporated
to carry on the management of the festival.
While maintaining the mandate of attracting visitors to the island,
consistent efforts were made to ground the festival as a Barbadian/
Caribbean festival with an international appeal, incorporating and
reflecting strong elements of the cultural reality in the Caribbean.
This was done by ensuring that local and Regional artistes participated
and shared the stage with international acts.
Opportunities were also given for the exposure and development of
a wider range of artistic expression including dance and mime.
The international nature of the festival has been characterised by
the scope of participation with artiste being drawn from Africa, the
United Kingdom, Canada, Jamaica, Us Virgin Islands, the French island
of Martinique and the USA.
Leading exponents of Barbadian Gospel music such as Joseph Niles,
Sis. Magarita Marshall, Promise, Tony Lowe, The Miracles and Gratitude
have graced the Gospelfest stage and contributed to the success of
the festival, while venues such as Farley Hill National Park (first
used in 2004), the Jackie Opel Amphitheatre and Heroes Square have
added uniqueness to the festival branding it as distinctly Barbadian.
Over the years the international and regional artiste list has been
impressive. Leading Gospel artistes such as Donnie McClurkin, Kirk
Franklin, Alvin Slaughter, Tramline Hawkins, Candi Staton, Harrella
Goodwin, the late Ras Shorty I of Trinidad and Tobago, Richard Smallwood
& Vision, Keith Staten and Shine the Light have all left their
imprint on the festival which has emerged as “the Caribbean’s
Premier Gospel Festival.”
www.barbadosgospelfest.com
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