Scores of Gombeys old and young danced through Hamilton on Saturday evening to honour the late Allan Warner.

More than 60 dancers from the island’s various troupes paid tribute to the eminent Gombey captain who died at the age of 59.

“It’s very heartfelt for me to see everyone come together for my dad,” Mr Warner’s daughter, Algina Butterfield, told The Royal Gazette.

“My dad was in love with his culture. He dedicated his life to the Gombeys.

“For the last 25 years he’s been trying to get the Gombeys together.

“For his memorial, they have come together to honour him like that.”

Mr Warner was deeply rooted in the culture and traditions of the art form, which blends African culture with American Indian, Caribbean and British elements.

He started his career in 1959 at the age of 3 and emerged as a gifted dancer.

He created most of his first costume at the age of 9 and began drumming for Warner’s Gombeys, the troupe that he ultimately captained, at 16.

In 1995, Mr Warner became the first Gombey captain to receive the Queen’s Certificate of Honour, and his stature was acknowledged at last year’s Gombey Festival with special recognition from the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs.

On Saturday, the Gombeys gathered with family and friends between the Bermuda Industrial Union and Hamilton Health Centre before making their way to Court Street.

Followed by hundreds of onlookers, they joined in the UpTown Saturday Nights festivities before heading on their way.

One of the event organisers, Antoine Raynor, of the UpTown Cultural Committee, said it was a “great honour” to be able to incorporate the tribute into the event. Describing Mr Warner as one of the patriarchs of the Gombeys, Mr Raynor added: “He was like a living history book of the Gombeys.

“His death is a great loss for the Gombey community. Being able to include that into UpTown Nights is a great tribute to a man who brought a lot to Bermuda culturally.”

Erica Smith, the executive director of the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation, added: “We were very honoured that the family and friends of Mr Warner chose the Uptown area, Court Street, and the Uptown Saturday Nights event to pay tribute to his life and his legacy with our island’s time-honoured tradition of the Gombeys.

“It was exciting to see so many Gombey troupes celebrating together and so many people following the troupes while paying homage to this cultural icon.”

Michael Weeks, shadow Minister of Health and Community Affairs, said: “Mr Warner believed in keeping the gombey tradition alive in Bermuda, and inspired many through his dancing, drumming and overall commitment to the community.

“For most of his life Mr. Warner not only entertained locals and tourists, but he also travelled sharing our gombey dance tradition with the world. He helped to cultivate a passion for gombey dancing in those who learned the art under him, and his work within the community will not be forgotten.”

Court Street was closed from Dundonald Street and Ewing Street for the event, which kicked off with an Open Mic Karaoke Session before the screenings of Central Intelligence and The Shallows. And while the crowd for the second Moonlight Movies Series event thinned after the Gombeys left, Mr Raynor said the organisers hoped numbers will build over time. Ms Smith added: “We hope to see more participants and attendees at each event as we move through the schedule to our finale event on New Year’s Eve on December 31.”

She said support for the initiative, which aims to help revitalise North East Hamilton, had been growing.

“With now our third event in Uptown since September under our belts, we are proud to prove what we knew would happen — that there has been no incidents or violence in Northeast Hamilton at our events. This is in contradiction to the perception of the area.”

Ms Smith explained that the UpTown Cultural Committee meets after each event to discuss what happened.

“To date the strengths of the initiative far outweigh the weaknesses and the committee are actively addressing any weaknesses to grow the success of the initiative each and every time.”

She added that most vendors and businesses “did well” on Saturday, but she also stressed that the revitalisation of Uptown is a “work in progress”.

“Last night we successfully showed two movies and had a teaser for the Karaoke Competition we hope to launch next week Saturday. We would encourage both professional and amateur singers to come out and compete next week.”

UPDATE: More details about event