The Tribune

By KORTNEY RODGERS

A SERIES of events has been unveiled to mark this year’s Fox Hill Day, an annual event celebrated by “Fox Hillians” to commemorate the emancipation of their ancestors from slavery by the British in 1838.

The events were announced yesterday by the Fox Hill Festival Committee. The festival, which consists of a week of family-oriented activities, will begin on Emancipation Day, August 4, and concludes on Fox Hill Day, August 12.

The name Fox Hill derives from a freed African slave named Samuel Fox, who was granted 23 acres of land in 1801, and the slave village that once stood in the area is said to be the last to receive the news of emancipation a week late.

The chairman of the committee, Maurice Tynes, believes the celebration is a means of preserving Fox Hill’s rich heritage. “We have continued this tradition and hope to pass it on to the younger people,” said Mr Tynes.

The holiday kicks off with a Junkanoo Rush-out at 12.30am on Monday. Other events, such as the plaiting of the maypole follow that day while performances by the Police Force Marching Band and Police Force Pop Band, are scheduled for August 9 and 12.

On August 6, there will be a groundbreaking ceremony for a monument that will be created in memory of the victims killed in the Freedom Park shooting on December 27 last year.

The drive-by shooting claimed four lives and injured several others as they awaited Junkanoo results, and left families in the Fox Hill community shaken.

Mr Tynes, along with Assistant Superintendent of Police, Oswald Nixon, said he thought it necessary to reassure the public that safety during the festival is of utmost importance. Supt Nixon said the police will be taking different measures to protect festivalgoers.

“We have in place various checkpoints to ensure that persons coming would feel comfortable and safe enough to enjoy the festivities that we expect for next week,” he said.

“The persons who are troublemakers, I’d advise them not to come out to the events because we’ll have zero tolerance to crime as it relates to those who come out to disrupt the decent folks who want to enjoy Fox Hill Day.”

Supt Nixon told The Tribune that on average the crowd reaches about 8,000 on Fox Hill Day and that there will be more than enough officers present at this year’s events to ensure the public’s safety.