The Bottom, Saba— Saba is gearing up for its 43rd Saba Day celebration that starts on Friday, December 7. The official part of the program takes place on Friday, followed by a fun-filled weekend with plenty activities.

The official part of the program on Friday takes part in Windwardside. Saba Day starts with the ringing of church bells and the sounding of sirens all around the island at 6:00am, followed at 8:00am by the ecumenical church service at the Parish of St. Paul’s Conversion where Island Governor Jonathan Johnson will give his Saba Day address.

At 9:00am, there will be a procession to the Harry L. Johnson Museum grounds, lead by the Drum Band of the Saba Boy’s and Girl’s Sports Society and at 9:15am, the Saba Flag will first be hoisted after which students of the Saba Comprehensive School (SCS) will sing the Saba national anthem.

Following the opening message of Master of Ceremonies Peter Johnson at 9:30am, there will be a dance performance by the Saba Comprehensive School Folklore Dance Club and the reading of a poem by a pupil of the Sacred Heart School. Saba Commissioner of Culture Rolando Wilson will share his Saba Day message.

Between the address of Commissioner Wilson and the speech of Commissioner of General Affairs Bruce Zagers, there will be a performance by the Child Focus Drum Band. After Commissioner Zagers’ address, the Sacred Heart School will present a song. The presentation of awards takes place around 10:20am, followed by a performance of the senior citizens and a dance performance of the Leos Club. Around 11:20am, MC Johnson will close off the ceremony. Afterwards there will be a reception on the museum grounds featuring The Occasionals and DJ Slim. After the official ceremony, the booths, selling local and creole dishes, will be open on the parking lot by the Tourist Office.

Visitors
Several delegations from abroad will come to the island for the official Saba Day program. Attending from St. Maarten will be Members of Parliament Claude Peterson, Channel Brownbill, Rolando Brison and Christophe Emmanuel, as well as several members of the St. Maarten government. Member of the Curaçao Parliament Meindert “Menki” Rojer will be present, as will the Chinese Consul Ding Cuiyu and Vice-consul Xu Ping. There will also be a delegation from St. Eustatius.

Commissioner Wilson asked all Saba residents to come out and take part in the national day ceremony and festivities. “Raise your flags proudly, knowing that we are a resilient people who are happy that we can once again share and celebrate our culture with everyone from far and near. God has been good to us,” said the Commissioner, who also called on everyone to enjoy the fun-filled weekend program.