a march from the city to Paget.

The march will begin at Court Street, Pembroke at 6.15 p.m. on Tuesday and end at the Ord Road top field -- just above Paget Primary playing field -- where a variety of entertainments will take place.

Entertainer organiser Leroy Butterfield said the day would be a cultural festivity honouring black kings and black history.

Haile Selassie ruled Ethiopia until he was deposed in 1974 and has become a religious icon to both the Rastafarian and Ethiopian Orthodox religions.

He is known as both the Lion of Judah and the Holy Trinity.

And Mr. Butterfield said he hoped all people would turn out.

"It is (a day) of unification,'' he added.

The event was not an effort to convert people, he said.

"God Almighty will bless whoever he wants to bless, that is not man's job,'' Mr. Butterfield said.

He stressed it would be a day of peace -- no fighting or alcohol.

The celebrations will run from noon to midnight.

Admission is free and the entertainment will include poetry readings, the Warner Gombeys, speeches, and United Productions dancers.

An open forum to discuss the Rastafarian religion will be held on Monday at the Bermuda Industrial Union building at 7 p.m.

"It will be an opportunity for people who are curious about what goes through these people's heads to find out what it is all about,'' Mr. Butterfield said.

FLASHBACK -- Emperor Haile Selassie is pictured here during a visit to Bermuda in the 1960s.

CHURCH CHU