“Christmas in Guyana wasn’t complete without a  

Masquerade band.” 

— Hew Locke, OBE, RA, Distinguished  

Guyanese Artist 

The Masquerade Association (Guyana) Inc. is pleased to announce the launch of Guyana Masquerade  Day, to be observed annually on 29 November. The inaugural celebration will take place on the 29th November 29, 2025 at 2pm. 

This national observance emerges directly from the urgent call issued by the UNESCO Workshop on  Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), held in Georgetown from April 23–25, 2025, which emphasized the  immediate need to safeguard Guyana’s rapidly declining Masquerade tradition. That call was strongly  

reinforced during the subsequent UNESCO-supported Masquerade Lives On Symposium, which  examined the challenges confronting the artform and identified opportunities for revitalisation,  innovation, and the development of sustainable livelihoods. 

Guyana Masquerade Day is an initiative of the newly established Masquerade Association (Guyana)  Inc., to lead national efforts in preservation, education, research, and creative entrepreneurship within  this national creative genre. 

The launch ceremony will be held in the compound of the Guyana National Museum, where a 13-year old mural depicting the heritage of Masquerade  

Arts, now under rehabilitation, thanks to supporters 

including Continental Agencies Ltd, will be officially  

unveiled. The mural was initiated by international  

Guyanese artist, Errol Doris, Board member of the  

USA-based, Guyana Cultural Association New York  

Inc., and executed by students of the E.R. Burrowes  

School of Art. The event will feature formal remarks  

from cultural stakeholders and will culminate in a  

grand Flounce Off by the National Masquerade  

Bands. 

The choice of 29 November pays tribute to Rudolph  

“Putagee” Vivieros, the revered Guyanese  

Masquerade ‘flute man’ who passed away on this  

date in 2023. It also ushers in the start of the  

Guyanese Christmas season, when Masquerade once animated villages, communities, and city  streets, bottom houses and backyards across the country. 

The Masquerade Association (Guyana) Inc. calls on all Guyanese—government, families, schools,  communities, private sector partners, and cultural institutions—to join in this renewed effort to safeguard,  celebrate, and revitalise this treasured element of our national heritage. 

For more information contact: Chair, Masquerade Association (Guyana)  

Inc; GuyanaMasquerade@gmail.com; WhatsApp +592-623-0388