“COVID-19 is bigger than Easter” – kite makers

…keeping Easter alive amid pandemic as sales fall

Throughout the years, kite makers across the country would await the much-anticipated Easter holiday to create and sell their masterpieces.
This year, however, while the COVID-19 pandemic has dampened the Easter festivities, some of these craftsmen are still keeping the spirit alive by putting out their specular kites on display.

As customary, preparations would commence since the year before, churning out dozens of kites in anticipation for the upcoming months, when their skills would be in high demand. These creations would be stored until a few weeks before Easter Day, when patrons would come forward to make their purchases.
For Easter 2020, the global pandemic has brought the country to a standstill, and most of these kites have been shelved, hopefully for next year. More so, the livelihoods of these persons have been affected.
Guyana Times visited key locations in Georgetown, where several persons laid their display amid the deepening crisis. With cognisance that the clamour to secure kites was lacking, brightly decorated kites were still strung up on the walls as passersby looked on.
One kite maker, Trevor Smith, expressed that he has spent over four decades creating kites as part of a secondary income stream. This time around, it was described as a “sad experience”.
“Sales this year is not as the previous years gone by…Right now, COVID-19 is bigger than Easter but as an individual that loves making kites and like to interact with the public, I have to be here to present my show and whatever sales come my way, I would give thanks and praises,” he uttered.
Recalling the rush in previous years, he stated that this year’s sales were significantly lower. In fact, there is no energy to suggest that Easter will be celebrated tomorrow.
“The previous years, as a man that doing this business for 41 years, you could’ve seen the energy – people traversing left, right, centre; entertainment, horns, shows at the park. So COVID-19 stomp all of that out. It’s just the real kite lovers will come out.”
In high hopes, Smith nevertheless said, “COVID-19 for me is just a sad experience in Guyana and worldwide and I know we are going to rebound from it.”
Just a stone’s throw away on Camp Street, Ryan Oselmo had set up his kite exhibit of different patterns and styles. He told this publication that it has been 24 years since he ventured into the kite making business. The impact of the coronavirus coupled with the elections impasse, he noted, has made it a difficult year for persons who depend on selling kites for an income.
“It really got we down bad as kite makers cause we start making these kites since last year. But we can’t fight it. All over is the same thing. We just come out here to keep the Easter alive but everything is slow,” the craftsman posited.
He added, “I actually sold about 10 kites up to now but on a real show every year, it does be hundreds of kites going out.”
Lastly, this publication caught up with Carlyle Dainty, who indicated, “Sales drop due to the virus and the elections because people hardly coming out.”
Kite flying is synonymous with the traditional Guyanese Easter celebrations, and it is an activity enjoyed by the young and old.
Easter Day, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ, will be observed Monday, April 13. In a revised gazette document on Saturday, there were restrictions to social activities, indicating that persons will not be allowed to congregate at traditional Easter spots such as parks, the seawall and beaches. In an effort to curtail the spread of COVID-19, the Protected Areas Commission and the National Parks Commission (PAC/NPC) also announced that all recreational parks and gardens will be closed for the Easter weekend. These measures are expected to last until May 3, 2020. (Rupa Seenaraine)