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Masquerade Day set for November 29
(Kaieteur News) – The Masquerade Association (Guyana) Inc. is pleased to announce the launch of Guyana Masquerade Day, to be observed annually on 29 November.
The inaugural celebration will take place on the 29th November 29, 2025 at 2pm, the association said in a press release. This national observance emerges directly from the urgent call issued by the UNESCO Workshop on Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), held in Georgetown from April 23–25, 2025, which emphasised the immediate need to safeguard Guyana’s rapidly declining Masquerade tradition. That call was strongly reinforced during the subsequent UNESCO-supported Masquerade Lives On Symposium, which examined the challenges confronting the artform and identified opportunities for revitalisation, innovation, and the development of sustainable livelihoods.
A section of the Victoria Masquerade band in action.
Guyana Masquerade Day is an initiative of the newly established Masquerade Association (Guyana) Inc., to lead national efforts in preservation, education, research, and creative entrepreneurship within this national creative genre.
The launch ceremony will be held in the compound of the Guyana National Museum, where a 13-year- old mural depicting the heritage of Masquerade Arts, now under rehabilitation, thanks to supporters including Continental Agencies Ltd, will be officially unveiled. The mural was initiated by international Guyanese artist, Errol Doris, Board member of the USA-based, Guyana Cultural Association New York Inc., and executed by students of the E.R. Burrowes School of Art. The event will feature formal remarks from cultural stakeholders and will culminate in a grand Flounce Off by the National Masquerade Bands.
The choice of 29 November pays tribute to Rudolph “Putagee” Vivieros, the revered Guyanese Masquerade ‘flute man’ who passed away on this date in 2023. It also ushers in the start of the Guyanese Christmas season, when Masquerade once animated villages, communities, and city streets, bottom houses and backyards across the country.
The Masquerade Association (Guyana) Inc. calls on all Guyanese—government, families, schools, communities, private sector partners, and cultural institutions—to join in this renewed effort to safeguard, celebrate, and revitalise this treasured element of our national heritage. For more information contact: Chair, Masquerade Association (Guyana) Inc; GuyanaMasquerade@gmail.com; WhatsApp +592-623-0388.
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