George Town celebrates its heritage

By Lindsey Turnbull

Each of Grand Cayman’s five districts have held their own individual district Heritage Day as part of the Pirate’s Week celebrations this year, and on Thursday it was the turn of George Town to round off the week of heritage celebration.

Held in the heart of George Town along Cardinal Avenue, George Town’s Heritage Day welcomed alighting cruise ship visitors as well as a host of locals mainly in search of something tasty for lunch. Food was definitely the lure for most, who were searching out the source of the aromas of fried fish, fried breadfruit and curried chicken.

A group of George Town ladies had worked hard to infuse this day with some historical references to Cayman’s heritage, along with the delicious food. Ms Deanna Look Loy had brought what seemed like the entire contents of her home and put them on display for visitors to enjoy. There was a traditional tea set, a set of beautiful plates created by the artist John Doak to commemorate Caymanian heritage and a display of the artwork usually adorning Ms Look Loy’s home, all created by local artists. Centre stage was a large display of intricate crochet work created by a neighbour of Ms Look Loy who had now passed away. Ms Look Loy wanted her work to go on display as she felt it was a dying art that she wanted to showcase.

Sisters Ms Jean and Ms Emily Ramoon had brought in a range of everyday items that would have been regular fixtures in any household in times gone by, including an indispensable grater for grating coconut, wompers (home-made sandals), and tins and pots and pans of every description, including an old tin bath that doubled up as a container in which to wash clothes. Ms Donna Bryant was also on hand to impart her knowledge of thatch weaving. Ms Donna said she had learnt the skill from her mother when she was about ten years old and now she delighted in passing on her skills to local school children, to ensure that this slice of Caymanian heritage was not forgotten.