Indian Arrivals Day Celebrations 2019

As workers in Grenada celebrate Labour Day, the Indo-Grenadian Heritage Foundation will also be commemorating the 162nd anniversary of the arrival of the first group of East Indians workers to the island on 1 May 1857.

Indian Arrivals Day is an opportunity for Grenadians and Indo-Grenadians to acknowledge and appreciate the integral role East Indians have played in our social, cultural and economic fabric, resulting in our rich and diverse cultural milieu.

Activities celebrating the historic event seek to highlight the culture, food and customs of India and Indo-Grenadians. More than 3,200 persons arrived in Grenada between 1857 and 1890 to work as indentured workers on agricultural estates throughout the island. The descendants of those brave souls became the genesis of the Indo-Grenadian population of our island today.

This year’s celebration commences with a commemorative church service held at Samaritan Presbyterian Church on 1 May, 2019 at 10 am. Everyone is invited to attend and encouraged to dress in traditional Indian attire.

On Sunday, 5 May Belmont Estate will continue the celebrations with a fundraising lunch and concert on behalf of the Indo-Grenadian Heritage Foundation. This event has been hosted by Belmont Estate for the last 10 years. This year, in collaboration with the Grenada Cultural Foundation, the IGHF is pleased to present an afternoon of Indian entertainment. Featured will be Conception Dance Theatre, Spice Isle Dancers, Amisha Persaud and Co., with the main act being a dance troupe from Trinidad, the Pratibha Arts Dance Company directed by Pooja Malhotra and performing a number of classical and modern, Bollywood style dances throughout the afternoon. A lively Indian Bazaar offering a variety of Indian clothes, food, jewellery, henna hand paintings, and everything Indian, is a favourite part of this traditional event.

This is the perfect opportunity to enjoy Indian foods and emerge oneself in Indian culture. Attendance to the bazaar and the concert is free and these events are open to the public. The bazaar and lunch commence at noon, and the concert commences at 2 pm.

Everyone is welcome and tickets for lunch are available throughout the island. For further information please contact 442-9524/26 or email belmontestate.net.

Indo-Grenadian Heritage Foundation

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