New twist in this year's Emancipation celebrations is expected to blossom into something wonderful for the perpetuation and strengthening of the La Rose Festival, one of two flower festivals on the island's cultural calendar.

This year the Cultural Development Foundation, CDF, will launch the La Rose festival with a difference. Marketing Officer with the Cultural Development Foundation Jimmy Clavier explains that the coupling of the two cultural staples, Emancipation and the launch of La Rose, observances in August, will make for a day of rich cultural entertainment and depictions on Thursday, August 1st.

“So the idea was to take Emancipation day or use Emancipation Day to launch La Rose in Saint Lucia so we will be doing the launching in the community of Monchy - to be specific, Monchy park. We will be doing that in conjunction with the Monchy La Rose group. And what we have organized for that particular day is the formal presentation - music and theatrical presentations that the La Rose groups normally put on.”

There will be more activities he says in regard to celebrations on the day.

“ It's not going to be like a Fete La Rose per se, what you see on August 30th, what it is geared towards is the actual displaying of different components that exists within the La Rose festival. So you will have drilling which is something we tend to miss out because in the la Rose there is royalty, there is the police, the army, there are nurses so you are going to have these different segments being displayed.”

The Au Leon, Mon Repos, and Monchy La Rose groups will put on drilling presentations. A full programme of cultural performances including storytelling, spoken word and the Secret Band will be among featured performances on Emancipation Day. The CDF he says also stands in support of all other Emancipation Day activities which will be happening around the island.