Riding into the September Celebrations

September in Belize is a vibrant time of patriotism, as the nation commemorates the historic Tenth of September and celebrates Independence Day. Throughout the month, streets and buildings are adorned in red, white, and blue, with the Belizean flag proudly displayed at every turn. Civic pride flourishes, and many locals go the extra mile, decorating their personal properties, like homes, vehicles and bicycles, creating a festive tradition that has become a beloved part of the September Celebrations. This month on the Bright Side, we go searching for patriotic Belizeans who go the extra mile in decorating their spaces. This week, we found ourselves in our very own backyard where one patriotic Belizean is preparing her bicycle for the fire engine and Tenth Parade. Here’s that story.

 

Sabreena Daly, Reporting

Karen Golanche enthusiastically shows her patriotism during the month of September. She displays it on the hanging curtains in her house, her dining room table adorned with mini flags of Belize. Even her bathroom is a statement of her love of country. Among the display is her traditional decorating and showcasing of her bicycle at the Fire Rngine and Tenth parades.

 

Karen Golanche, Patriotic Belizean
“I find myself to be a very patriotic person. I love my country. I love the people of my country. And so that’s the reason why I do this every year.”

 

Since 2008, this has been a time-honored tradition for Golanche. Each year, she challenges herself to create an original design. Her bike is a spectacle and a staple of the parade that the public eagerly anticipates.

Karen Golanche

“I just wanted to do something different by changing this motorcycle into a bicycle. And that’s the reason why I chose this. Whenever anybody sees me, my family, my friends, the public, they see me on this bicycle, I think they enjoy it more than myself, and I enjoy it so much too. So it’s just a special time for me when I am on my bicycle.”

Bike decorating has been an added feature of the September Celebrations for decades. Samson Jacobs, a representative of the St. George’s Caye Day Society, says that the bicycles came about because vehicles were not as prominent in that time.

 

Samson Jacobs, St. George’s Caye Society Representative

“So the bicycle competition all started back in the days before maybe you and I were born. They didn’t have a lot of vehicles in Belize City. So people were encouraged to come out and decorate their bicycle based on the theme or the September celebration. It had to highlight some aspects of the Battle of St. George’s Caye. So, you would see the red, white and blue. You would see things like the boat, the beam, anything related to the Battle of St. George’s Caye Day.”

 

 Now, with vehicles and trucks everywhere, bikes are a limited attraction i  the Tenth and Fire Engine parades. In honor of the late Louis “Tony” Leslie, his family has organized a bike decorating competition. The winner will be announced at the Belize City Council’s Tenth Bram.

Samson Jacobs

“The bicycle decoration competition adds additional patriotism to the 10th parade. That is where persons who feel that they want to participate, they want to show their civic responsibility, they want to show national pride, they can come out and participate in that competition. This year we decided to make this year’s competition in honor of Mr. Tony Leslie because he was a lover of  the bicycle and the cross country race. So, we decided to do that for him. September is really a time for us to show our patriotism and that is what we want to see, not only this year, but going forward. We want to bring back that old historical component of persons actually decorating their bicycles. So yes, we have a lot of cars, but we imagine we have all the cars in the parade. It will be a long parade, right? So we are encouraging people to come out and use their bicycles, be creative and just have fun at the same time.”

 

The prizes are attractive, with first place riding away with as much as five hundred dollars. But win or lose, it’s the adornment from the crowd that will be the biggest reward, says Karen Golanche.

Karen Golanche

“I ride my bike every year because of the love of my country. It’s not really for the competition. Well, if I win, that would be a great thing. But, I would do it anyway without being in that competition.”

 

Among those eagerly anticipating the bicycle spectacle is Mayor Bernard Wagner.

 

Bernard Wagner, Mayor, Belize City
“Being patriotic also means participating. And the bicycle decoration is an event that highlights the richness of our traditions, the richness of our patriotic demeanor and so I’m always excited about it. I’m certain that we can’t wait to see who will be the winner. We have young, middle, elders participating in that event. We look forward to it and we are so pleased to be able to participate.”

Samson Jacobs
“We want to also say that, while the 10th parade is to help with unity and the level of patriotism, we are strongly encouraging citizens not to let it be something political, no showing of political affiliation, just come out and have a fun time.”

 

This year’s parade holds even more significance for Karen Golanche, as it marks her return since 2019, following the disruption caused by COVID-19 and a two-year hiatus. Though the decorations on her bike have aged over the past four years, she promises to debut a spanking ride on September Tenth.

Karen Golanche

“The last time I have been out in the streets celebrating on my bicycle was in 2019. Here is the leftover of the decorations that, um, since then, but when you see me,  um, on the fire engine parade night,  this bicycle will be sparkling. Wow. It will look completely different. Because I’ll go all the way with it.”

 

Looking on the Bright Side, I’m Sabreena Daly.