The annual Freedom Night "all-night" vigil and libation ceremony will again be held by the National Emancipation Trust (NET) at the Parliament Buildings courtyard, Brickdam, starting with assembly at 7 pm tonight, Emancipation Eve, and continuing to "fore-day" morning tomorrow, at 3 am.
A NET press release said that this will be the 10th occasion on which this yearly three-part extravaganza will be held since its inauguration on July 31, 1992.
The three parts of the eight-hour session in the forecourt of Parliament Buildings will, as usual, be devoted to religious, cultural and educational aspects of the celebration, the release informed.
Further, the release noted, all-night vigil and libation ceremonies are now a feature all over Guyana and particularly in African-oriented villages from Corentyne, Berbice to Essequibo and from Linden to Bartica, with the main one being staged at the Public Buildings.
The theme of this soiree, the release noted, is the adaptation of the Jamaican call song "Come light a candle, come sing a sankey, ring the bells of freedom, come find out all about your own and find your way back home."
The religious dimension of the event, the release stated, will include the singing of hymns, led by the House of Judah of West Coast Demerara, and followed by members of various congregations, as well as addresses by pastors and other representatives of Christian, Muslim, Hebrew and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, among others.
Addresses in the educational element will be aimed at raising the consciousness of the assembly's knowledge of the rich African heritage and the present way of life, the release said.
The cultural aspect will include dances, songs, dramatic poetry, and the powerful beat of the "talking" African drums, the release said.
In addition, there will be a drumming competition and the winners will be chosen by the acclamation of the audience.
The release also said that an African scholar will provide the lead for the pouring of libation just before midnight, and the relevant ceremonies for libation, with "Harambe" being pulled down at midnight. This will be accompanied by the symbolic lighting of the candles and the ringing of bells as a reminder of the attainment of freedom in 1834.