The National Festival of Arts in Belize - Showcasing The Talent of Belizean Youths

June 1st, 2011
By: Will Moreno

I have been hearing so much about this event that provides the youths of Belize with an outlet to showcase their talents in drama, dancing, poetry, and the arts, and this was an event I knew I had to see. This event is the National Festival of Arts, where children from all over the nation of Belize showcase their talents in the arts.

I was very excited at the thought of being invited to witness this event in person. This is an event created by The National Institute of Culture and History (NICH) to encourage the youths in the creative arts. This year's National Festival of Arts has two categories the Juniors and Seniors. The Juniors are those that are from the primary level including children of 4 to 13 years of age and then the Seniors which are individuals of the secondary level and includes children ages 14+.

Not knowing exactly what to expect, I made my way down to the Bliss Center for the Performing Arts and was amazed that they had a packed audience in the lower and upper levels. The spotlight shone on these talented chidren performing with enthusiasm and pouring their entire self into their performances.

What was so amazing was the fact that some of these children were so young, probably around age 4 or 5, and they were on stage performing to songs that certainly had a positive message. Some of the wonderful performances included drama, dance, poetry, and music. I was moved with the performances of these young, budding Belizean stars.

The costumes of some of the performances included the traditional Mestizo outfits, the Jankunu. Some of the other performances were very creative, and so were the vibrant bursts of colors of the costumes. I was very impressed at the level of performances and would definitely love to see this creativity in the minds, hearts and souls of the youths of Belize continue to linger.

Performances continue tomorrow at 10 AM for the Juniors and 4 PM for the Seniors. On Friday Night at 7 PM they will have a Literary Evening with poems and more. The event will end on Saturday with performances with Ozzy the clown and Friends, Chispin and Lucas Locuaz alonside the Playground Posse with performances at 3PM and 6PM.

Come out and support the youths of Belize!