5000 Guyanese expected at Guyana Memorial Weekend Festivities in Atlanta, Georgia

Guyana Small Businesses & Tourism Sectors could benefit from participation

Each year, thousands of Guyanese in the diaspora look forward to Memorial Weekend Celebrations in Georgia. The highlight of the weekend is usually the Guyana picnic held on Sunday of each Memorial Weekend for the past 15 years. This year will be no exception. The festivities continue with numerous Guyanese-club fundraising parties on Friday and Saturday evening. The Guyana Association Of Georgia sponsored picnic on Sunday May 25th at Hallford Stadium (formally Memorial Stadium) usually draws vendors and Guests from as far away as the UK, Canada and several states across the U.S. Families usually arrive at the picnic by 11am and hang out all day to meet greet and rebuild old relationships with long lost loves and friends. There are usually booths for kids, friendly amateur games of soccer and cricket; usually between teams from NY and Georgia, plaiting of the Maypole by Guyanese kids, cultural shows and domino competitions.

The Guyana Association of Georgia sponsored Independence Ball held on that Sunday evening is usually the culmination of a very enjoyable day.

This year the band “de Untouchables” will play with Guyanese DJ Royalle on the turn-tables. This event will be held at the Park Central Banquet Room in Decatur, GA. The weekend’s activities usually end on Monday May 26th with a popular after-lunch event where folks are entertained by popular Guyanese or Caribbean bands. The Byron Lee band has entertainingly regaled the crowds for the past two years.

As the years progress however, some have posited that with such a huge and positive gathering of Guyanese in one place each year, we should challenge ourselves to more than just party and sporting. There is also recognition that many Guyanese have been recently affected by the downturn in the economy causing more than a handful to be recently laid off with big severance cheques in their bank accounts. Many of these nationals are looking south and wondering if Guyana holds any promise as an investment destination.
Out of this interest the Guy-America Investment Association was formed with the sole purpose of building an investment bridge between Guyana and the United States. The organization’s stated role is to help to pave the way for US investors who wish to invest in Guyana and to also support the efforts of individuals who wish to give back through NGO and non-profit associations to Guyanese organizations.

The Guy-America Investment Association intends to; among other functions, broker relationships between local small and medium sized businesses in Guyana in need of capital and overseas investors who do not wish to return to Guyana but hope to use a portion of their nest egg to invest in a venture which will provide them an adequate return on investment. GuyAmerica Investment Association will also provide facilitation services for those who wish to contribute to local NGOs and affected communities in Guyana. More importantly however, those nationals in the diaspora who wish to execute on activities in Guyana will be able to use the services of the organizations’ agents to pursue personal business transactions which would have required a trip to Guyana. The organization expects to launch services in Guyana by mid-year after consultations with the requisite bodies in Guyana.

GuyAmerica Investment Association encourages representatives from Guyana’s small business and tourism industries to attend the Memorial weekend festivities in Georgia to arrange to have locally made merchandise displayed.

For more information email guyamerica@gmail.com. The GuyAmerica office will also aid in making airline and hotel arrangements and providing event guides for any guests interested in participating in the Memorial weekend celebrations in Georgia.