The culture of the Caribbean island of Barbados will be celebrated in Fort Langley this weekend at one of the community’s art galleries.
The Birthplace of B.C. Gallery will host Barbados Day on Saturday, Aug. 16 from noon to 4 p.m.
Barbados, and its neighbour Guyana are connected to B.C. in general and the Fort in particular through Sir James Douglas, the first governor of the colony that would become British Columbia.
Douglas was born in Guyana, his mother a Creole woman from Barbados, his father a Scottish trader.
Barbados day will include performances by the Red Stone Alley Band and Kendrick Headley, a pianist, arranger, and composer who began playing the steelpan at age five.
Headley is a member of the Esso Tripoli Steelband.
The event includes the raising of the Barbadian flag at 1:45 p.m., a proclamation by “Governor Douglas,†an appearance by Scruffles the Clown, art demonstrations, displays by the B.C. Farm Machinery Museum, and the Fort Langley Lions Famous Chicken Barbecue.