Government to Host Thanksgiving Concert to Commemorate Maria on September 19, 2019

Prime Minister Skerrit last Sunday told the nation to look forward to an important announcement that would come later during the week about September 19. The PM later this week revealed that the government will host a thanksgiving concert on September 19 to commemorate the dark incident of Hurricane Maria which occurred in 2017.

Skerrit said the thanksgiving event will hold at the Windsor Park Sports Stadium at 4 p.m. on the evening of Thursday, September 19. It will be a time to reflect on the material and human damages caused by the hurricane as well as thank God for the steady recovery the country has witnessed since the incident two years ago.

“Each of us who survived this life-changing experience has a story,” Skerrit said. “Despite everything, we emerged from this horrifying experience together, and through God’s mercy and guidance, we are alive to see each other’s faces today.”

The prime minister said the experiences with Maria left everyone in a daze, and the circumstances of the tragedy “will forever be etched in our memories. She cut us off from our neighbours, took the lives of loved ones, decimated our valleys, scraped our hills and mountains naked, and left us bare and exposed.”

He, however, commended Dominicans for their resilience, abiding faith and perseverance to transform their trials and travails into triumphs. He said the thanksgiving concert will be an occasion of spirit-filled praise, thanksgiving and deep reflections.

“It will be a watershed day in the lives of Dominicans, as together, we shall reflect on the pain and destruction inflicted by Maria on our country, and take a critical look at the results of two years of sure and steady progress,” Skerrit explained. “It will be a day of careful thought, sober celebration, and thanksgiving in words, songs, and dance.”

Several local, regional and international musicians are billed to perform at the coming concert. These include –

• Ophelia Marie
• Michele Henderson
• Colton T
• Marie-Pascale Affana
• Edwin Yearwood
• Sarah Ikumu
• Kurt Carr
• Reverend Shirley Caesar

Several music groups, youth choirs, cultural dancers and drummers, as well as upcoming artistes will showcase their talents to the people and in the praise of God for the country.

This article is copyright © 2019 DOM767