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Hundreds of citizens in St. Ann as well as followers of National Hero, The Rt. Excellent Marcus Mosiah Garvey, turned out on August 17, to commemorate the 122nd anniversary of his birth. The celebration, organised by the St. Ann Civic Affairs and Community Relations Committee, was also held to mark the 45th anniversary of Garvey being declared a National Hero....

Executive Director of the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC), Delroy Gordon, wants the Commission to start providing accreditation for training in promoting Jamaican culture. Mr. Gordon says that, although the proposal was still in discussion and planning stages, he was giving the matter his personal attention, as it is a direction in which the country needed to go. "Jamaica is...

In an effort to preserve Jamaica's rich cultural heritage, the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) is establishing Culture Clubs in schools and communities across the island. The programme aims to provide a medium through which the development of the arts can be sustained, as well as promote a greater sense of patriotism and civic pride among young people. This was...

The Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) will be staging a week of activities across the island to commemorate National Heritage Week, between October 12 and 19, 2009. Exhibitions, expositions, forums, thanksgiving church services, Heroes Day salute functions and floral tributes to Jamaica's National Heroes and Heroine are among the activities planned for the week. This was disclosed by the Executive...

Jerkfest, the biggest food festival of its kind in Ontario, Canada, was staged on Saturday and Sunday (August 8 and 9) at Centennial Park, Etobicoke, on the outskirts of the city of Toronto. On Saturday, featured artistes were Frankie Paul and Georgia, delivering to a very gratified crowd who braved the rain armed with their umbrellas. Paul, a veteran and...

In 1962, a group of Jamaicans living in Toronto, Canada, wanted to celebrate the Independence of their island home. The planning of the festivities resulted in the formation of the Jamaican Canadian Association (JCA), which today is regarded as the largest and oldest Jamaican community organisation in Canada. Like Jamaica, the JCA this year celebrates its 47th year of existence....

Chairman of the St. James Festival Visual Impact Committee, Odette Soberam-Dyer, has commended the business entities in Montego Bay, which participated in the Business Place/Shop Window Display Competition. Soberam-Dyer, who visited the entities yesterday (Aug. 12) to present certificates to the participants and plaques and prizes to the winners, said that all the entities did a "tremendous job". "I was...

Teens and young adults in and around the Swaby's Hope community in Manchester are slated to benefit from a one-week youth development forum, which will be hosted by the Swaby's Hope New Testament Church of God. Pastor of the church, Ernie Nelson, told JIS News that the event, which will be held from August 17 to 21, will target young...

Sunday, August 9 was declared 'Jamaica Day' in the United States capital, by the Mayor of Washington, D.C., Adrian Fenty. Mayor Fenty read the proclamation at a Thanksgiving Service to commemorate Jamaica's 47th year of Independence, at Dumbarton Chapel, Howard University, in Washington, D.C., on August 9. The Mayor said that Washington, D.C., is proud to be the home to...

Youth, Sports and Culture Minister, Hon. Olivia Grange, is defending the administration's decision to stage Emancipation and Independence celebrations this year, despite calls from some persons for their postponement, in the face of the global economic downturn. This year's celebrations, which were staged under the theme: 'I Believe in Jamaica', and which started as far back as May, with the...

Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, the Hon. Olivia Grange, has cited the need for Jamaicans, particularly those in the Diaspora, to "take control" of the country's cultural products which have figured prominently, globally, particularly in developed countries. Noting that music is Jamaica's most "dynamic and far-reaching export", Miss Grange said the product has penetrated all corners of the globe,...

Canadians are learning about Maroon culture and history from the Charles Town Maroons from Portland, who have been in the North American country since July 30. The 10-member group of dancers and drummers is in Canada at the invitation of the Jamaican High Commission to take part in Emancipation and Independence celebrations. They have conducted workshops in Ottawa and Toronto,...