By OSWALD T. BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C., July 6, 2019 — Bahamians in the Atlanta, Georgia area and friends of The Bahamas who plan to participate in the events celebrating the 46th anniversary of The Bahamas’ independence are in for a very special treat. The Hallelujah Boys, Bahamian comedians Wil Stubbs and David Wallace, will be appearing at First Christian Church of Atlanta on Friday, July 12, as one of the independence celebrations events being held by The Bahamas Consulate in Atlanta.
Even though I have never seen a performance of The Hallelujah Boys, having lived in Freeport, Grand Bahama, for 12 years, during which I was Editor of the Freeport News from 2003 – 2009, I am very well acquainted with the funny, comical and amusing on-stage humor of both Wil Stubbs and David Wallace before they became a comedic team.
I also happen to know the multi-talented David Wallace very well because he has been actively involved in politics in Grand Bahama for many, many years and is a former Member of the House of Assembly for a Grand Bahama constituency. Aside from the fact that politicians in The Bahamas tend to go out of their way to establish close friendships with newspaper editors, David Wallace and I became very good friends after we first met because I had been a long-time friend of his late uncle Alton Wallace, one of the most influential political operatives in Grand Bahaman for many years going back to the 1960s.
What’s more, throughout his political career, David Wallace has always demonstrated his significant acting talent in staged comical plays, in which he often teamed up with the current Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources, the Hon. Michael Pintard, who is known nationally as a talented playwright. Their collaboration on “political skits” following a general elections were generally huge hits when staged in both Freeport and Nassau.
The fact that Mr. Pintard is the Member of Parliament for the Marco City constituency of Grand Bahama may be one the reason for the appearance of The Hallelujah Boys at the at the Atlanta Consulate independence celebrations event, but I suspect that Bahamas Consul General to Atlanta Astra Armbrister-Rolle, who has been doing an excellent job representing The Bahamas diplomatically, may also have had a lot to with providing this very special entertainment treat as part of our independence celebrations in her jurisdiction.
As noted in the video accompanying this brief commentary, persons planning to attend the event are being urged to “bring your grandma, your grandpa, bring your whole entire family because its going to be a laughing good time that you do not want to miss.” Indeed, a recent performance by The Hallelujah Boys in the Turks and Caicos Islands was described as “a night of unbridled laughter and fun.”
Under the theme “United We Stand Bahamas, Together We Can,” The Bahamas Consulate General in Atlanta has also invited Bahamians in the Atlanta-area diaspora and friends of The Bahamas to a service of thanksgiving “for our blessed nation, The Commonwealth of The Bahamas” on Sunday, July 14, at the First Christian Church of Atlanta. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY BAHAMAS. Check out this promotional video: https://www.facebook.com/rosie.hall.581/videos/10157380447349120/
