Lanyap Festival celebrates Caribbean women, ageing

Cultural icons Mavis John and Eintou Pearl Springer will perform excerpts from Eintou Springer’s Shades of I She at the opening gala of the Lanyap Festival.

The three-day festival is a celebration of Caribbean women and ageing and will take place at Lakou Wi, 12 Warner Street, Newtown, beginning on World Menopause Day, October 18.

John and Springer will be joined by Vaughnette Bigford for a night of celebrating the lives of Caribbean women, their resilience, and the significance of their stories.

Lanyap Festival promises to deliver a rich and immersive cultural experience, while shedding light on some of the health challenges many women are facing in silence, a media release said.

Dara Healy, founder and managing director of Idakeda Group said in the release that the global conversation on menopause is gaining momentum. She feels that since women do the lion's share of caring for others in their communities, “the Lanyap Festival is aimed at situating the conversation within our cultural realities, the love and respect we have for the women elders in our lives and the need to prioritise women's health at all ages."

On October 19, Idakeda will partner with Caribbean feminists for a community workshop on climate change and ageing. Part two of the community workshop series will take place on October 20 in the morning, in partnership with Meno-TT’s Gillian Smith-Trumpet and Lyf Medical.

In the evening on October 19, the conversation shifts to the wisdom of elders from Hindu, Ifa/Orisha and Indigenous cultures in a panel discussion titled The University of Granny, Tantie, Nennen and Nani – Rites of Passage and Rituals for Older Women in Traditional Communities.

A central feature of the festival weekend will be a health and wellness fair being hosted in partnership with the North West Regional Health Authority. From 2 pm-6 pm on October 19 and 20, patrons will access free services including blood pressure, Pap smears, HIV and BMI tests, the release said.

The weekend closes off with another panel discussion, Managing the Impact of Menopause at Home and at Work, featuring Akilah Riley-Richardson of the Relational Healing Institute and communications specialist Natasha Nunez.

Patrons can awin door prizes from Caribbean Airlines, Xtra Foods, Panini, Meiling, Roses Hezekiah and Flawless by Shanna.

Lanyap Festival will be a space for reflection, cultural performances, and community engagement, ensuring that Caribbean women, particularly those in their later years, are celebrated for their lasting impact on the region and the world, the release said.

Attillah Springer, Lanyap Festival programme director said so far, response to the festival has been overwhelming.

She said in the release, “So many women have reached out to express thanks that we are hosting this series of events. And that has been encouraging, because for us, Lanyap is about challenging the idea that getting older is something we should be afraid of. Menopause, like so many issues around women’s health, remains shrouded in secrecy. We are aiming with this festival to start a very public conversation on women and ageing.”