St Elizabeth gets ready for Homecoming Week
The month of November is homecoming time for St Elizabeth. Under the leadership of the St Elizabeth Homecoming Foundation Ltd and the distinguished patronage of Custos Beryl Rochester, residents and those born in the parish will celebrate the ‘best of St Bess’ during the annual Homecoming Week scheduled for November 18 to 24.
This year, the foundation commemorates its 25th anniversary and plans to rededicate its commitment to parish and community development through three main events.
Interim chairman of the foundation, Dr Patrick Dallas, said St Elizabethans from all across the island are invited to take a trip home to the parish of their birth and join those who still reside there during the week of celebrations.
GOLDEN AWARDS BANQUET
Outlining the week’s calendar of events, Dallas highlighted the Annual Golden Awards Banquet to be held on Saturday, November 24 at the Luana Banquet Hall at Luana, near Black River, at which outstanding individuals and groups will be recognised for their contribution to St Elizabeth and to nation-building.
Guest speaker will be Professor Fritz Pinnock, president of the Caribbean Maritime University, who hails from Siloah in the parish.
A major feature of Homecoming Week 2018 will be the inaugural St Bess Homecoming Agrifest, to be held Friday, November 23 at Independence Park in Back River, beginning at 10 a.m.
The event will seek to highlight the importance of agriculture in and to St Elizabeth, which has earned the reputation of being the breadbasket of Jamaica.
Homecoming Week 2018 will begin with the traditional Thanksgiving Church Service to be held on Sunday, November 18 at the Black River New Testament Church beginning at 10 a.m., while during the week, school motivational talks will be offered across the parish.