Children’s Mash Parade brightens city streets with vibrant showcase of Guyanese culture

The streets of Georgetown were filled with vibrant little revellers, as the annual Children’s Mashramani Parade flowed through the city, showcasing rich Guyanese culture with colourful costumes.
The 2025 Children’s Mashramani celebration got underway on Saturday morning with a promise to give the adult celebration a run for its money. Draped with a vibrant display of Guyanese culture, each administrative region showcased unique traditions.
During the celebrations, Guyana Times caught up with Assistant Chief Education Officer (Secondary) Sherwin Blackman, who shared that this year’s festivities are raising the bar, ensuring a truly memorable experience for everyone.
“Every year it becomes bigger, better, and even more exciting. I mean, I’m not with any specific region this year, so this year I get a chance to enjoy everybody. And I can tell you: every single year, they are bringing it to a higher level. We are giving the National Mash competition a big run for their money,” Blackman enthused.

He added that the focus is still on keeping the culture alive in Guyanese people, with a high emphasis on Guyana’s youths.
“We try to get most of the music to celebrate more locally, because as far as we try to promote culture, we want everybody to start owning Guyana. This is ours, and we like to ensure that we can celebrate it in a great way. I think (that) all of the regions and the schools that participated took time to showcase what they have in their culture, but more so how they can showcase the other ethnic groups in Guyana,” he disclosed.

He added that there was a slight setback as the rain came, but it was overcome.
“The rain tried to stop us, but it’s beautiful again. Nothing comes without a little hiccup. However, we still had a very smooth start. So, I think generally it was a fabulous day,” he declared.
Chiming in on the action, regional organizers shared the concepts behind the unique designs of floats and costumes representing their respective regions.
Regional District Officer for Region 6, Kendra Ram, who won last year’s competition, had a lot to say about their decorations as well as their hopes to regain their title.
“The idea behind this design was that we wanted to talk about education and the harmony of knowledge. The importance is that the country must use this in order to have One Guyana. We need to have education. We love the turnout. In fact, we were last year’s winners, and we are looking forward to winning again,” she declared.

Shaundelle Harkening, Regional District Education Officer for Region 3, expressing belief that her region would rise to the occasion and claim the championship, has said, “I am here with our team, and we are expressing culture and unity in Guyana, and we are hoping to come out victorious all the way. We are depicting unity and strength, and the people of Region 3, that is what our colours red and yellow signify,” she explained. “Our colours embody unity and cultural expression, expressing our culture and creativity as one. Guyana, we will win, and we will win. This year is really good,” she expressed.

Meanwhile, the children who participated in the parade were having a blast, and had a lot to say to encourage other children to join the festivities.
“The practice wasn’t really hard, but the ones to come will be hard. Just wait and see, we are going to win again this year for sure,” one young reveller noted.
“Mashramani is all about fun, and y’all should come out and participate in the Mash. I feel great. This is my first time. I think I’m going to win. Y’all enjoy yourselves!”, another pupil shared.
The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport launched Mashramani (Mash) 2025 under the theme “Expressing our Culture and Creativity as One Guyana.”