Residents of the south-eastern community of Mayaro turned out in their thousands to witness the region’s “biggest ever” Independence Day fireworks display which lit up the sky over the Mayaro Recreation Ground for 15 minutes on Sunday night.
Conducted by FireOne Fireworks, the pyrotechnics were an Independence anniversary gift from energy company bpTT whose home community is Mayaro.
“This is great. It was like a space movie. I didn’t think I would see fireworks like this.
“I didn’t want it to end,” said a bright-eyed Amy Ramadhar, nine, of Kernahan Village, Manzanilla, who enjoyed the spectacle with her mother and younger sister, Emily.
In a release, Matthew Pierre, community liaison officer, bpTT, was pleased with the huge turnout of residents.
“You have people from all over the south-east region, from as far as Rio Claro, Biche, Sangre Grande and Manzanilla. It was a real pleasure to see the sheer awe and joy on the faces of the children when the fireworks went off.
“If you want to see fireworks of this magnitude, you have to go all the way to San Fernando or Port-of-Spain. As you can see, entire families have come out to enjoy this rare opportunity of witnessing a grand fireworks display right here in Mayaro. It is bpTT’s way of sharing the joy of Independence with the people,” Pierre said.
The evening was also marked with a “Back-to-School” cultural concert and family entertainment organised by Mayaro-based organisation, Leaders of Tomorrow, which handed out school supplies, including book bags, lunch kits, books and other items, to 15 needy primary school students.
The group is led by Keniece Sylvan, president, and Judy Perrote, manager.
Popular Mayaro artistes, Orlando Octave and Corey “Kenna T” Mc Kenna, a bpTT employee and former Brighter Prospects award recipient, along with the Mayaro Scout Band, led by Patsy Lezama, thrilled the huge crowd with samplings of their repertoire.