The Brooklyn-based Guyana Independence Celebration Committee New York said on Wednesday, June 17, that over 10,000 people attended Guyana\u2019s \u201chistoric and epic\u201d Diamond Jubilee Independence Parade and Unity Concert in Brooklyn on Sunday, June 7, 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis celebration was historic,\u201d said Committee Chairman Rickford Burke. \u201cIt attracted over 10,000 participants as an epic, awesome display of Guyanese love and patriotic fervor.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThousands of gen-z and gen-x Guyanese joined older generations of Guyanese in the parade, which formed a sea of people who took Church Avenue by storm,\u201d he added. \u201cThe crowd grew to 10 to 15,000 people as the parade entered Linden Boulevard, a major highway that runs through Brooklyn.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe infectious, flag-waving Guyanese multitude, bedecked in green, red, white, gold and black \u2014 the colors of the Guyana flag \u2014 then stormed into Rockaway Avenue,\u201d Burke continued. \u201cThe revelers, powered by five music trucks, which blasted Guyanese and other Soca music, jumped and gyrated in jubilation and national pride, creating an energetic, carnival atmosphere as the parade culminated at the concert venue on Foster Avenue in Canarsie, Brooklyn.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said The Unity Concert was also a \u201cphenomenal success,\u201d stating that New York City-based renowned vocalist, Dr. Cherryann Hislop, opened with a \u201cbeautiful rendition\u201d of the Star-spangled Banner.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Burke said \u201cthe incredible\u201d Lisa Punch followed with a stirring rendition of the Guyanese national anthem.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
Rickford Burke himself delivered electrifying welcome remarks, firing up the crowd further.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
He was followed by grand marshals, Congresswoman Yvette Clarke and Jayden Andries, the 2025 top CSEC student for Guyana.\n<\/p>\n
Burke said several elected officials, including New York City Council Members Chris Banks and Mercedes Narcisse, as well as New York State Assembly Members Monique Chandler-Waterman and Jamie Williams, graced the stage to bring greetings.<\/p>\n
He said Congressional Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who represents the 8th Congressional District, encompassing parts of Brooklyn and Queens, also took to the stage amid thunderous applause, declaring that he was proud to represent Guyanese Americans in \u201cRegion Eleven.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeffries stated that he and his colleague, Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, representative for the 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn, as joint representatives of the largest community of Guyanese in the US, will continue to fight for the rights of Guyanese both in the US and in Guyana.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Burke said the AYAM Entertainment Group delivered an \u201cexceptional performance,\u201d showcasing the rich tapestry of Guyana\u2019s ethnic groups, while paying homage to the Yoruba singers in -This is Guyana!\u00a0<\/p>\n
Drummers Jermaine Fifee and Akoyaw Ruddbrought brought the theme \u201cFeel the Riddim of the Nation the Nation @ 60\u201d to life with a medley of\u00a0 folk songs that evoked nostalgia among the audience, Burke said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said other performers included Super Terry \u2013 the one-man band, DJs Paytriad, Energy MNB Jay, Fari, GT Boss, Flex, and Eazze, \u201cwho kept the energy high.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The audience also enjoyed conscious reggae music from Pablo G, Ras Redemption and Zebulun De Counselor. They were followed by dancehall artistes Kira Devine, Okeke, Jace Jay, Trev Mulah, Mafi, War Child, Vibes Mattic, Nia, Stretch, Sactz, Gazzie 19, Bruck Up, Mitr3, and SpinCity Chris.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe atmosphere became ecstatic when the mega concert transitioned to the Soca segment, where Trinidad Killa treated the concert goers to his hit collaboration with Nicki Minaj, igniting the energy,\u201d Burke said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said the excitement escalated further when Brandon Harding, Guyana\u2019s two-time Soca Monarch and Guyana\u2019s Jingle Competition champion, took the stage.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Burke said the highlight of the concert came during the encore, when the seven-time Guyana Soca Monarch and former lead singer of Byron Lee and the Dragonaires, Jumo Primo, also known as \u201cRubber Waist,\u201d took the spotlight and brought the house down, creating \u201ca truly historic moment for the Guyana Independence celebration in New York as the curtain came down on the day\u2019s celebration.\u201d<\/p>\n
Popular Guyanese DJ \u201cRed Rum\u201d and Nekita Luke hosted the show.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThe predominantly Guyanese crowd behaved well, resulting in a safe, highly successful event,\u201d said Burke, stating that the NYPD reported that the celebration was incident free.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOur Guyanese, especially our young people \u2014over 10,000 strong \u2014 showed up and represented Guyana and our Guyanese culture with unprecedented pride,\u201d he added, extending special thanks to supporters and participants.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe thank you and love you,\u201d Burke continued. \u201cYour constant, growing support is the singular reason for our success as an organization.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Brooklyn-based Guyana Independence Celebration Committee New York said on Wednesday, June 17, that over 10,000 people attended…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":272349,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,100,99,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-272348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272348","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=272348"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272348\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/272349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=272348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=272348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=272348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}