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Christmas of Yesteryears to be Reenacted at Miss Lassie’s House

Arts and Culture 20 Dec, 2021 Follow News

CNCF Volunteers Tidy Up Miss Lassie's House

CNCF Staff Give Miss Lassie's House A Fresh Coat of Paint

Students Learned How to Spread the Sand at the 2020 Event

The Cayman National Cultural Foundation (CNCF) will be cleaning and sprucing up Miss Lassie’s home in South Sound in preparation for Christmas. The annual event, called “Christmas of Yesteryears”, reenacts the various activities that Caymanians would engage in years ago as part of their cultural traditions during the holiday season.

This year the CNCF staff and volunteers will descend on the grounds of Miss Lassie’s home (also known as Mind’s Eye) on Tuesday, 21 December from sunrise to noon where they will mix white lime to dress the house in a fresh new coat for the holidays; ‘back’ sand in traditional Caymanian thatch baskets and arrange it in neat piles; spread and brush the sand with rosemary brooms; pull weeds and perform any other necessary maintenance on the structure and compound.

“It is so important to our sense of identity as a nation that we keep hold of these precious traditions and not allow them to fade away from our collective memories, either because of our inattention, or the fast pace of modern development,” said Henry Muttoo, CNCF Artistic Director.

Gladwyn K. Bush – Miss Lassie – was a fourth-generation Caymanian who started painting at the age of 62 after what she describes as a visionary experience. Strong Christian themes run through her work, which she painted not only on canvas, but also on the walls, windows and furnishings of her home.

In 2009 after her death and that of her only son, the Cayman Islands Government purchased the property and vested it in the Cultural Foundation. Since that time, CNCF has meticulously restored and preserved the artist’s home for the people of the Cayman Islands to experience an embodiment of their cultural and artistic heritage, to keep alive the memory of the artist as a National Cultural Treasure and, by its use, to educate, promote, develop and research Caymanian and intuitive art, culture and heritage.

For more information about Mind’s Eye: Miss Lassie’s House or to book a tour contact Virginia Foster at vfoster@artscayman.org or 949-5477 or visit www.artscayman.org.


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