La Plaine Vacation/Reunion 2022

La Plaine people at home and aboard (Jea Au Vent) will gather in mass in La Plaine during the week of July 28th to August 6th for a vibrant village reunion. Throughout the entire week, there will be activities and events to remind us of the pride we all had and have growing up in the gateway and anchor of the southeast. We will embrace the opportunity to bond, renew and rekindle, nostalgic memories, relationships, and friendships in incomparable ways.

La Plaine vacation 2022 will not just be a large party but also a celebration of love, connection, and a chance to celebrate our heritage by spending some quality time together and remember what's uniquely wonderful about being part of an incredible and proud agricultural community in the southeastern mountains. It will also serve as a powerful reminder of our generosity, where and whence we came from, strengthening community and individual identities.

The vacation's event lineup begins on Thursday, July 28th with a meet-and-greet at Gabo's high-end bar. On Friday, July 29th, care packages will be delivered to the elderly, sick, and shut-in throughout the village including Carse O' Gowrie, Laronde, Balizier, Plasaince across the Sari-Sari and Laronde rivers. A 70s and 80s Disco dress dance night will wrap up the day.

On Saturday, July 30th, a community market day is scheduled where local farmers will display and sell their produce and cash prices will be given to the best-decorated stall. The market day will be a reenactment of the Exhibition Day of the 1960s where the best looking and biggest dasheen, yams, rosters, and other agricultural products were displayed at an annual local bazaar in the school yard on a chosen Sunday. That will be followed by a signature "All White Dress" party in the evening.

On Sunday, July 31st there will be church services and a family game day at the RMG Sports Complex and playing field. There will be a Rounders game pitting La Plaine based vs. La Plaine Overseas. Lime and Spoon, 3-legged and Sac races, and a "Tug of War" will add to the entertainment. Additionally, there will be a slide show presentation featuring and honoring the village's elderly. The final event at the field will be the fourth annual presentation of laptops by the Koulirou Foundation to every student who will be entering high school in September. On August Monday there will be a wet fete on the banks of the Taberi river and the next day will be an island-wide excursion. Those who are not too exhausted can participate in the Karaoke night followed by a fun-filled game night on August 3rd.

Early in the morning on Thursday, August 4th will be a beach cleanup at Boute Sable. In the early afternoon, there will be a business informal networking session and a PowerPoint presentation on the La Plaine Land and Tax riot uprising in 1893 at Pierre Colaire Square in Carse O' Growrie. Also, an artistic mural of the few scenes of the uprising will be previewed.

A public policy panel discussion entitled, "Migration: Destination and Reintegration" will follow. The villagers will then make their way to Boute Sabe beach located approximately half a mile away, walking and dancing in a 'saywinal" style for a moonlight bonfire to the sounds and beat of a Lapo Cabrit band.

The night activities at Boute Sable will be a poignant reminder of earlier times before the Endangered Species Act when wildlife was in abundance. Back then our forefathers hunted and caught turtles at night as they emerge from the sea to lay their eggs ('Vieiler Tortie') to feed their families.

On the final day on August 5th will be the Chemin Lateng (Lake Road) from "Tete" Grand Fond passing through the Morne Macaque to the Laudat lakes hike. The trek through the rainforest mountains will emotionally and spiritually pay homage to our grandparents trekking with their heavy loads on their heads and backs as they made the two-day trip to sell their produce in Roseau.

We will stop at 'Ravine Déjeuner' (Lunch Ravine) and say a prayer for their departed souls. That is where our folks took a break on their journey to rest and eat. We will then return to La Plaine via the motorable roads which arrived in our community in the mid-sixties and wrap up with a fish fry.

Hopefully, La Plaine vacation/reunion 2022 will reinforce the La Plaine folks' common bonds, regenerate friendships, and reinvigorate our spirits in appreciation of life's differences and different but parallel journeys.

Special thanks and congratulations to the Koulirou Foundation for their hard work in organizing the reunion. The group members comprise of Catherina, Cheryl Allan-Flagg in Los Angeles, Dexter Newton in La Plaine, Marsha Dubois and Elwin Joseph in St. Croix, and Mrs. Nadia Steadman Monsegue in Louisiana. Special thanks to the Pierre Colaire subcommittee which is composed of Finn, Newton, and Allan- Flagg.