Members of the community who have brought positive change were presented with awards during a family night out in Hamilton.

Glenn Fubler, the organiser, called the “July 2gather Family Fun Fest” on the grounds of City Hall a success, with attendees raised up high aboard the Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service’s lift truck.

The area was set aside last year as Freedom Square by the City of Hamilton as a place for free expression, in honour of its links to the Progressive Group activists and the 1959 Theatre Boycotts against racial segregation in Bermuda.

Mr Fubler said Saturday evening’s events began with words of reflection from Pastor Steven Powell of Gospel Chapel on The Glebe Road, in the wake of a shooting in the early hours of Friday that claimed the life of 19-year-old Letrae Doeman, with a 20-year-old man injured and treated in hospital.

Community groups such as Family Centre, the Mirrors Programme and the Chess Association took part in the festival, hosted with comedy from Gina Davis of CedarBridge Academy.

Mr Fubler said about 400 people attended the event, in collaboration with Ministry of National Security, the Ministry of Education and the Department of Culture, with food provided by Butterfield & Vallis and assistance from the Corporation of Hamilton.

Awards were presented, starting with Erskine Simmons representing the Progressive Group.

Reverend Nicholas Tweed of St Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church collected an award on behalf of his father, Reverend Kingsley Tweed, for his contribution to the Theatre Boycott as well as the labour movement.

Leroy Looby was recognised for his contribution to the two-week peaceful campaign of the boycott with other young people.

Awards went also to Mike Stovell, a stalwart at Paget Football Club, Paget Vestry and Warwick Workmen’s Club, and Dave Horan, the principal of Warwick Academy.

The two have collaborated on cricket and other joint sporting opportunities for young people in Warwick.

Aaron Chrichlow, representing the community group Bermuda is Love, was unable to attend the presentation.

The night came with a performance by Domonique Brown, a 15-year-old CedarBridge student and black-belt martial artist, followed by music from Jeff Marshall, Robert ‘Si’ Simons and David Skinner.

The trio were members of the band Life Sentence, which formed in the 1970s.

Other performances included comedy by Jah Simmons, the PHC Majorettes, the group Gombey Evolution and the artist Arijahknow Live Wires.

Mr Fubler said: “Watching the last families, patiently awaiting the ' lift ride up into the night sky, it hit me that this was all about perspective.”

He said Freedom Square had lifted up others from ground level “to view a variety of vistas” across its history.