On Saturday night, a ‘Lib Stream’ music event was held at Mont Orgueil – featuring entertainment from a line-up of local DJs, including Warren Le Sueur, Si Gasston, DJ Lora, Craig Alder and Colin Moore and singer Moya. The event – which made its debut last year at Fort Regent – allowed Islanders to tune in online via a live stream.
Mr Le Sueur helped to organise the evening and said this year’s venue had been‘fantastic’.
‘Last year [the Lib Stream] was a complete success and this year Jersey Heritage gave us permission to use Gorey Castle,’ he said. ‘It’s completely unique – nothing like this has been done there before.’
He added that the organisers were grateful to both Jersey Heritage and the Bailiff’s Office for helping to facilitate the event.
‘It’s key that what came before us is remembered and not forgotten,’ he said. ‘We’d love for this to become an annual event and when we get back to normal we can have the crowds as well as the live stream.’
On Sunday morning, Occupation veterans across the Island received parcels filled with treats, courtesy of the Liberation Celebration Parcel Project. Co-ordinated by Aaron Labey of Labey Ltd, the project set out to deliver 600 parcels to ‘Liberation Legends’ and enlisted the help of local schoolchildren to prepare and decorate the packages.
A virtual concert also took place on Sunday to mark the start of the Liberation Music Festival, which runs until 20 June with a combination of online and open-air events. The opening night showcased performances from more than 100 participants including the Jersey Chamber Orchestra, Georgi Mottram and Benjamin Lewis.
In St Lawrence, parishioners who lived in the Island during the Occupation were offered a ‘taste of Jersey’ in the form of a bag of Jersey Royals, which were given out for free at the parish hall on Friday.
Constable Deidre Mezbourian said the occasion had been a ‘good opportunity’ for parishioners to catch up with familiar faces and exchange stories.
‘We normally do a coach ride and an afternoon tea, which couldn’t happen this year so we thought it would be lovely to encourage those who were able to come down to the parish hall to enjoy a taste of Jersey.’
Meanwhile, Le Petit Train broke out the bunting for a series of Liberation-themed rides, featuring era-appropriate songs from artists like Vera Lynn and Glen Miller.
Darren de Louche, who manages the service, said it was possible that the rides could return for next year’s Liberation celebrations.
‘We’ve not run this before,’ he said. ‘I think that it’s important for people to celebrate Liberation Day in any way that they can and for the community to come together.’
The Jersey Old Motor Club took to the roads on Sunday for a twelve churches cavalcade starting at Broad Street and making its way through each of the parishes before returning to St Helier.
The club also intends to hold a display next Sunday at Weighbridge Square with a smaller display of Occupation cars at the Pomme d’Or Hotel.
The ceremony to commemorate slave and forced workers who were brought to the Island by the Germans during the Occupation did not go ahead for the second year running as a result of Covid restrictions.
However, those wishing to pay their respects were invited to lay a wreath at the memorial at the Crematorium during the day.
