Members of the Rose Flower celebrate their grand feast day, today August 30th !
Groups from around the island have been conducting the traditional fundraising activity; the séyans, in their respective communities, all in anticipation of the annual celebration. The Cultural Development Foundation (CDF) is elated to wish Saint Lucians far and wide a bon Fèt Lawòz!
Fèt Lawòz is the celebration of one of two “floral societies which expresses an exhaustive system of mock administration from a royal family to an army, police force, judiciary, health service, and education system,” (from The Flower Festivals of Saint Lucia, Hon. Msgr. Patrick A. B. Anthony) among others. A total of thirteen groups are registered and based in various communities around Saint Lucia. Each group holds séances in the lead up to the grand feast day, which consists of all night singing and dancing sessions. The central figure at the séance is the chantwèl (female singer) or chantè (male singer), who sustains the spirit and tenor of the evening’s entertainment.
The Gwan Fèt is celebrated annually, on Aug 30. This year, the Gwan Fèt takes us to the community of Monchy. Nine participating groups will in brilliant fashion parade the main community streets from the Monchy Park to the Church of St. Rose De Lima where a church service will take place from 3:00 p.m, after which they will make dramatic presentations all in admiration and honour of the symbolic rose flower on the Church Grounds.
The Cultural Development Foundation (CDF) is hopeful that the objectives of creating greater public awareness of the festival in terms of its history, purpose and the elements that make up the festival as well as encouraging greater private sector participation in the festival will be met. The CDF urges the public to come out in large numbers to experience a spectacular celebration of Saint Lucian tradition. Viv Lawòz!