AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums The Cayes Specials & Events September Celebrations 2022

Today, June 1, 2022, the National Celebrations Commission (NCC) held its inaugural meeting at the House of Culture in Belize CIty to plan the events which will form a part of the 2022 September Celebrations.

Hon. Francis Fonseca, Minister of Education, Culture, Science and Technology, in his capacity as Chairman of the NCC, led the discussions, which included the addition of new concerts and events to highlight Belize @ 41. The focus of the NCC is to make this first fully-open celebration of our national month since 2019, a fitting tribute to the vibrant culture, nationalism and resilience of our people.

The NCC is comprised of representatives of the National Institute of Culture and History (NICH), government entities, the Belize Mayor's Association, the Belize Carnival Association, security forces and the media.

Discussion with the Belize Carnival Association on the association and the upcoming Carnival 2022.

The 2022 September Celebrations theme revealed: "VALIANT AND BOLD, PROUD AND STRONG! BELIZE REBOUNDS @ 41!"

The theme was submitted by Ms. Sheryl Distan, a teacher from Belmopan. Congratulations!





"Valiant and Bold, Proud and Strong ... Belize Rebounds @ 41!" will lead the way for the 2022 September Celebrations. Submitted by Sheryl Distan, a teacher hailing from Belmopan, the theme highlights qualities characteristic of Belizeans while celebrating our resilience, especially following almost two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The National Celebration Commission has a lot of great events planned around Belize for its 41st Independence Day.

======

September is almost here and for Belizeans that translates to national celebrations. From the much-loved fire engine parade to a tribute to the legendary Lord Rhaburn, the National Celebrations Commission (NCC) is excited to roll out a full calendar of events, featuring traditional activities and new additions, to commemorate Belize's 41st anniversary of Independence. Hon. Francis Fonseca, Minister of Education, Culture, Science & Technology and the chair of the NCC, shared all the details on what Belizeans can expect after two years of limited celebrations.

A Look at the Official Belize@41 Logo!

The National Celebrations Commission has officially launched the calendar of events for September 2022. Click the link below to access the document. Enjoy the celebrations!

https://www.pressoffice.gov.bz/national-celebrations-calendar-of-events-2022/
(Click the blue rectangle near the bottom of the page to download the schedule PDF)



==================

Belize @ 41 Award Ceremony



=================

Valiant and Bold, Proud and Strong ... Belize Rebounds at 41!

Belize Jouvert 2022


Belize Carnival Review 2022

Revelers flood the streets of Belize City after waiting for two years to be back on the road and outside. Their vibrant feathers, bejeweled costumes, and high spirits graced Belizeans as they watched each band bring their stories to life. From overjoyed toddlers to vigorous seniors, every waistline moved to the overdue sound of soca in the Carnival Road March.


Click photos for more pictures!

================


Carnival Road March 2022

"Back Pan Di Road"

This past weekend was the highlight of the September celebrations - the Carnival Road March. And after two years, it was still just as alive and energetic.

But the entire event started at 4am with J'ouvert - the mud filled march at the break of dawn. And after a quick shower and a little rest, the same crowd came out to either participate in or watch the actual Carnival.

It was a day of dancing and debauchery and our team was out there from the start of the Jouvert to the end of the Carnival.

Courtney Menzies has the recap.

Courtney Menzies:
It's still dark out but those behind me are ready to party till the sun come up. It's been two years without Jouvert, the pre-carnival tradition that anyone can be a part of, so don't be surprised if things get a little wild, and a whole lot muddier.

And from the next two hours, that's exactly what happened. We followed this riot of revelers rolling through the pre-dawn streets, like a Soca Tsunami, from in front of the Civic Center, over BelChina Bridge, and finally ending at Marine Parade.

And by the end, rather than being tired, the crowd was even more energized.

Crowd
"We feel awesome! Soca Moca to the world!"

Courtney Menzies:
"Ready for carnival?"

Reveler
"Yes, one thing, we ready for carnival, although I dih bleach."

Courtney Menzies
"How was the Jouvert?"

Reveler
"It was great. Jouvert mih wet. Wet, wet, wet, wet, wet."

Courtney Menzies:
"And you wet too?"

Reveler
"Well, I wet same way too."

Courtney Menzies:
"How was the Jouvert?"

Reveler
"Good! Nice! Nice, ey, ey, ey! [dancing] Jouvert mih nice! [Dancing] The hype is on, the hype is on, it's back, I must say thanks to the general public for letting us have a very safe Jouvert and I hope you do the same thing 1 o'clock."

Courtney Menzies:
"You think a lot of people will be coming out for carnival?"

Reveler
"Definitely, I have no regrets in saying come out, you all will be safe, the police have assured us that they will be flooding the streets with officers, so people come out, enjoy the Carnival this afternoon at 1."

Courtney Menzies:
"Do you feel the September spirit is back after 2 years?"

Reveler
"More than back, as you can see, it's on!"

Courtney Menzies:
"How are you guys feeling out here?"

Reveler
"Good, it's good, it's good! [dancing]"

Courtney Menzies:
"Miss, how you dih feel today?"

Reveler
"It's my birthday! Sun up turn up! [cheering]"

Courtney Menzies:
"Miss, how unu dih feel?"

Reveler
"I feel lovely, baby."

Courtney Menzies:
"Are you happy Jouvert is back?"

Reveler
"Yes, I'm happy and I'm glad for it."

Courtney Menzies:
"How are you feeling sir?"

Reveler
"Mind mih business. Drink water and mind my business! Done seh it! I'm grateful being here and today and I'm in carnival and I gotta go dance tomorrow and out here I love it and two years, we're back in it guys!"

Courtney Menzies:
"How you feeling?"

Reveler
"I feel great!"

Courtney Menzies:
"Happy Jouvert is back?"

Reveler
"Oh, yes, definitely. I'm excited! We buss up 2022, 2022 we buss this up."

Courtney Menzies:
"How you feeling?"

Reveler
"Jouvert bwai, feeling good, excited fi the Jouvert, the Jouvert is back!"

"Big up everybody, this is the first time since COVID and everybody is outside and everything lit, everything lit!"

Courtney Menzies:
"So after all the mud and dancing, it's safe to say that these revelers were ready fi the road, and after two years, the September spirit hasn't gone anywhere."

And this time around, nothing could stop the dancers, revelers, and partygoers from fettin', not even an arm riveted with a metal brace.

And that energy remained as the sun rose higher in the sky and the bands prepared for the main event - Carnival 2022.

And after two years, they were all more than ready.

Marina Welcome, Jump Street Posse
"Our first section concern the coronavirus, the vaccine, the syringe, the skeleton is death and you have the one with the mask for protection. So we've been locked up for a while with the coronavirus, two years almost, and then after that joy, the spirit of carnival, and when joy came about, joy said well, it's time to open up the city, so it's time for us to bacchanal so that's why you will see all these beautiful colors behind here because we getting ready to bacchanal."

Courtney Menzies:
"How did you feel for two years when you couldn't bacchanal?"

Marina Welcome, Jump Street Posse
"It was a little disaster but you know we have to cope with everything. So when we start opening up, it was a great deal for me."

Soca Moca
"After two years, the energy is definitely on, this is so exciting, after two years, I can't explain myself, this feeling is so good, you guys will see us perform and, you know, don't mind, I could whine, everybody come and whine."

"This is the Belize section, I am the spider section, we have Trinidad & Tobago, Guyana…The theme is Diary of the Caribbean. Yeah, Diary of the Caribbean."

Courtney Menzies:
"You guys had a very traumatic experience during your Mas Camp."

Soca Moca
"As you know, that was out of our hands but we overcome that, they gave us a second chanced we did our best and we're here to do our best now to give everyone a show."

Leroy Green, Mother Nature
"Mother Nature has been in carnival, I think this makes 18 years, and ever since we've been in carnival we've always place in the top three either for king or road march. This year, as you know, we came first for queen, first for king, and today we are going to be looking for the final win, which is the road March. The revival is really a story which is half fantasy, half history and it's based on corona, the effects of corona, and what happened after corona."

Trenchtown Masqueraders
"Our theme is we back pon the road, we outside 2022."

Courtney Menzies:
"So talk to us about what it means for you guys to be back on the road."

Trenchtown Masqueraders
"Well, it means fun for us, two years and we haven't been on it so now, this year. We ready."

Courtney Menzies:
"Do you feel like you're prepared for what lies ahead?"

Trenchtown Masqueraders
"Yes, we well prepared, all the sleepless night will tell off today."

Courtney Menzies:
"Are you hoping that you guys will win?"

Pickstock Carnival Band
"Yes."

Courtney Menzies:
"And how hard have you practiced?"

Pickstock Carnival Band
"Hard, hard, hard."

Courtney Menzies:
"So what's your favorite part about carnival?"

Pickstock Carnival Band
"Umm, winning."

Samantha Soberanis, Collet Royal Revelers
"My theme for this year is through the eyes of our survivors, you are stronger than you think."

Courtney Menzies:
"So this is because of the pandemic, so why did you choose this for your theme? The theme was chosen based on what our country is presently going through, if you have been listening to the news, you will notice there have been a lot of cases reported for child abuse, domestic violence, and that's the reason we decided to do this theme."

Courtney Menzies:
"How did you feel for two years when you couldn't be out here?"

Samantha Soberanis, Collet Royal Revelers
"It hasn't changed, yes it has been gone for two years, but the feeling is the same, it's carnival, when you hear soca music, you can't keep still. It's good, it's good to be back on the road."

And once the clock hit 1, nothing could contain the Carnival craze.

Host:
"How the vibes today?"

Reveler
"The vibes nice! Everything good! The weather good! Everything is lively!"

Host:
"You ready for this whole new route?"

Reveler
"Well, this is the same route as 2018 so I'm used to it, we've been on this route before, so we ready for anything, Soca Moca come out to win today!"

Host:
"How you feeling?"

Reveler
"I feeling good!"

Host:
"Tell them where you're from!"

Reveler
"I'm from Belize… Los Angeles!"

Host:
"She came all the way from Los Angeles just for carnival guys, how you feeling?"

Reveler
"I feel good!."

Host:
"How are you?"

Reveler
"I'm doing wonderful!"

Host:
"Two years without carnival and you're back now, how that feel?"

Reveler
"My first time so I'm having the time of my life!"

Host:
"Show them this costume!"

Host:
"You want to explain to me what this costume means to you?"

Reveler
"I think it's means, for us carnival means coming blackout from a pandemic, celebrating with friends and being Belizeans, it's part of our culture."

Host:
"You want to explain to me all of this?"

Reveler
"Well I am Queen Aquia, the manifestation of water, the head of life."

Host:
"You ready fi back this thing all day?"

Reveler
"Yeah."

Host:
"Are you guys coming for the win?"

Reveler
"Definitely."

Host:
"Where you from?"

Reveler
"St Lucia!"

Host:
"Show you flag too as well! Because we're one Caribbean. How you feel?"

Reveler
"Great, it's amazing, it's my first time, it's amazing, and I love it!"

And while they all performed with the same vigor as pre-pandemic carnivals, there could still only be one winner. For the Junior Bands, that winner was Soca Massive, and for the Senior Bands, it was Soca Moca.

But in the first post COVID carnival, just being back "pan di road" was a victory for all these revelers and the community which came out in droves for the combustion of colors, culture and choreography.

And second and third place for the junior bands went to Jump Street Posse and Collet Royal Revelers respectively. For the senior bands, Mother Nature Creation came in second and Trenchtown Masqueraders took third place.

Channel 7

---

Soca Moca and Soca Massive Dominate Carnival 2022

The winners of the Carnival 2022 Road March have been declared. After months of arduous work, two mas bands came out on top. In the senior category, Soca Moca Mas Band prevailed. In the junior category, it was the Soca Massive Band that rose to the occasion. A News Five team was out on Saturday to catch all the live action. Today, Paul Lopez visited the band leaders of the winning groups. He filed the following report.

Paul Lopez, Reporting

Soca Moca Mas Band is the Carnival 2022 Road March winner among the senior bands. Audrey Bradley, the leader of the band, is celebrating her second victory.

Audrey Bradley, Band Leader, Soca Moca

"The theme that I use this year I have that from 2019. I had thought about it from 2019 and I just kept it and I said, whenever they have carnival back I will use the same theme. I really wanted to do that theme Caribbean Soca Diary, because I wanted to do from the different Caribbean countries that have carnival. A lot of us don't know the different Caribbean countries that have carnival. A lot of us think Trinidad and the basic ones that we know, but it is a lot of them. Like, people don't know Grenada has carnival."

In the junior band category, Soca Massive came out on top. Their band leader is Pauline Bradley. She is Audrey Bradley's younger sister.

Pauline Bradley, Band Leader, Soca Massive

"With me I am somebody that loves dancing from I was a little girl. I love entertainment, the stage, and so even though, I moved to the US so all of that came to an end. Then I came back to Belize and started over. My girls, I have five girls and they are all the same. For me dancing is something natural for us. When I decided to do a junior group, same way I raised them to be that is how I try to have my junior group to be. I have the girls at practice putting in their hundred percent, even though it was not carnival day and road march as yet. I made them practice the same way they would practice on the road."

Belizeans were out in droves along the carnival route on Saturday, as spectators to the array of colors and various choreographies on display. It was the judges who were stationed on Youth for the Future Drive and the Marion Jones Sporting Complex that had the difficult task of judging each group.

Pauline Bradley

"I knew I was in the top two from camp night. What a lot of people and spectators don't understand about carnival, carnival is not just the road march on that said day. It has a lot to do with your costumes from camp night. The revelers, the hype, the energy from camp night. Camp night plays a big role in the points for road march. That is what a lot of people don't know. So when they see you out there and the kids they look tired, I mean you guys can't expect these kids to go from point A to B and not be tired. They are human beings, not machines.So the whole entire score and everything comes from camp night unto road march."

Audrey Bradley

"Everybody mih and think deh deserve the win, but I wah speak fih myself, and I know everybody gawn through the same thing. The preparation never easy. You always hear sleepless night and ih still the happen, sleepless nights, we work hard honestly. I think I work twice as hard as I ever work since I had my carnival group, a hundred and eighty one people I prepare fah, so that dah like double the amount. That dah like almost three time the amount weh deh ask fah. Mien, I nuh know weh the people deh come from."

Second place in the senior category went to Mother Nature Creation, and third place to Trenchtown Masqueraders. Second place in the junior category went to Jump St Posse, and third place to the Collet Royal Revellers. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.

Channel 5

---

13th Evening of Patriotic Songs And Poems

10th of September Ceremony

Today celebrates 224 years since the historical battle at St. George's Caye. Government officials, dignitaries, invited guests, and Belizean patrons gathered for the official ceremony at the House of Culture in Belize City. Several performances,the coronation of the reigning Queen of the Bay, Mazlin Hanson, took place during the formalities.


Click photos for more pictures!

Official ceremony commemorating the Battle of St. George's Caye.

National Day of Prayer: Belize @ 41 and a Celebration of the Life of her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at St. John's Cathedral in Belize City.