The Wesley Bell Ringers will celebrate their 35th anniversary with a focus on reviving the Bahamas National Handbell Festival (BaNaHaFest), by assisting churches with getting handbell choirs started, or revived, as well as assist other campanologists (bell ringers) who are seeking to improve their handbell ringing skills.
The Wesley Bell Ringers and Jubilee Bell Ringers of Grant's Town Wesley Methodist Church will host the (BaNaHaFest) on April 2 at Grant's Town Wesely Methodist Church on Baillou Hill Road and Chapel Street, with handbell ringers from Methodist, Baptist, Assemblies of God, Brethren, Salvation Army and Anglican churches.
David Allen, a master campanologist from Orlando, Florida, who has written two handbell ringing books, and has led handbell ringing workshops in six Canadian provinces and 48 American states will be the guest clinician. Allen is a member of the Handbell Musicians of America (formerly the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers), which includes South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and The Bahamas.
The handbell workshop will end with a grand massed handbell-ringing concert on Sunday, April 3, at Golden Gates World Outreach Ministries on Carmichael Road.
The workshop will cater to children as young as five through adult and cover beginners, intermediate and advanced handbell-ringing skills. Even though it is geared toward churches, the workshop is open to anyone, even if they don't own a set of handbells. The cost of the workshop is $60 per individual registrant with a special registration fee of $50 per individual registrant for groups of six or more.
BaNaHaFest 2016 will be held in the memory of the late Dr. Jewel Sonja Dean, its founder.
Handbell ringing was introduced to The Bahamas in the 1970s by the late Kayla Lockhart Edwards. It did not truly take flight until Dean started the Wesley Bell Ringers in August of 1981. During the 20 years she directed the Wesley Bell Ringers, she also began the handbell movement by helping other churches start handbell choirs and introducing handbells into the government schools.
The Wesley Bell Ringers played in many churches, hotels and concerts around New Providence, throughout the Family of Islands and across the United States of America. They attended handbell ringing workshops in Florida and began the Bahamas National Handbell Festival in the 1990s. The Wesley Bell Ringers even recorded an album and became a member of the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers (AGEHR).
Marilyn Tinker directed the Wesley Bell Ringers for a five-year period. It was her vision that a feeder children's handbell choir be formed. When Trevor Bethel became director during the Wesley Bell Ringer's 25th anniversary, he decided to form the Jubilee Bell Ringers in the spring of 2007, a feeder group for the Wesley Bell Ringers. The group was named by Deaconess Tezel Anderson. Today, every member of the Wesley Bell Ringers was a previous member of the Jubilee Bell Ringers.
As the Wesley Bell Ringers prepare to celebrate its anniversary in October, their idea of the workshop and festival is to assist churches with getting handbell choirs started or revived as well as assist other campanologists who are seeking to improve their handbell ringing skills.
For more information regarding the workshop, contact the Grant's Town Wesley Methodist Church office at 326-8092 or by e-mail at gtwesley@coralwave.com. You may also visit our Facebook page "The Bahamas National Handbell Festival".
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