Vieux Fort Nobel Laureate Literary Night 2016 a Great Success

We are pleased to announce that The Vieux Fort Nobel Laureate Literary Night was a great success; over a hundred persons attended. Some persons had to turn away because all seats had been taken.

On the night, the art of Jonathan Gladding, Lesley Lubin, and Janice Samuel were on display; so were the books of Modeste Downes, Jolien Harmsen, Clive Sankardyal, and Derek Walcott. The poets who read included Shan Lucien, Augustus Cadette, Moses Jn. Baptiste, Julius Ersthee, Vigna Antoine, and Marcia Dolor. There were performances by the Augier Combined School and the Micoud Secondary School. N’Vogue presented a dance called “A City’s Death by Fire.” There was a video presentation of the Nobel Laureates, musical performances by Ally Kyatt, Itoobaa, and Adrian Klien; folk drumming by Tanbou Mele, storytelling by Sylvester “Wasi” Flood, and the premier of a poetry video of Phases, Modeste Downes’ epic poem tracing the history of Vieux Fort. The event was Emceed by Kendall Elva and Sherma Charles (see attached program), and was graced by The Honorable Winall Joshua, Mayor of Vieux Fort, and his wife, Christine.

In terms of audience applause, N’Vogue and Adrian Klien were the standouts.

Above all, we want to say this: that good things can happen in Vieux Fort, and good things have been happening in Vieux Fort. However, more good things need to be happening in Vieux Fort, and in a more consistent fashion. So what does it takes? Well, take the Literary Night, for example. How did it happen? Well, a few of us responded to a call to let us try to always have an activity in Vieux Fort to match the national calendar of events. That was late November last year. The rationale being that the consistent hosting of such activities will help strengthen Vieux Fort as a community, instill confidence in the future of the town, and enable residents to take pride and ownership of their community.
So next time a national event goes by and Vieux Fort is not represented, and you say how come Vieux Fort is so dead, nothing happens in Vieux Fort? For the answer, look at the mirror. For if things are not happening in Vieux Fort, it means no one in Vieux Fort, no group in Vieux Fort, came together to stage activities. It means you didn’t do anything to help make it happen. It is people that make things happen; no matter what community, in what country, in what planet, it is people or intelligent beings who come together to make things happen. The Literary Night happened because a few persons (5 to be exact) came together to make it happen and then solicited the participation of other persons and the broader community. By participation I mean the performers, the sponsors, the volunteers, and you the audience. We all played a part.

So the moral of the story is, let us all become the ball to ensure that our communities, wherever we reside, thrive and progress. Let us adopt a “can do and let’s do it attitude.” For it is together we can make our communities a better place to live and raise our children. For the answers, don’t look at the politicians, don’t look at the government, don’t look at your neighbors, look at the mirror.