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Picture showing a chapel and dwelling house at Sligoville in St. Catherine, where the first free village was established shortly after the abolition of slavery in 1834.

Sligoville – Jamaica’s First Free Village

Located about 10 miles north of Spanish Town, St. Catherine, is Jamaica’s first free village, Sligoville. The property was purchased by Baptist Minister and abolitionist, Rev. James Mursell Phillippo, who arrived in Jamaica in 1823. He campaigned for the abolition...

Executive Director, Institute of Jamaica, Vivian Crawford.

We Must Learn From Our Ancestors – Vivian Crawford

Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Minister, Hon. Olivia Grange; and Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett (right), are assisted by Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) Interim Executive Director, Orville Hill (left); and former Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Edward Seaga, to cut the JCDC’s 55th anniversary cake, at the Culinary Expo held at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston on August 2.

Culinary Arts Festival and Competition to be Revived

Mr. Patrick Campbell, wearing the Jamaican colours, views the ‘Yaadi Bites’ booth at the opening of Independence Village at the National Arena in Kingston on August 1. The Village, which will open daily to the public until August 6, features a number of family-friendly activities, including booth displays, food courts, lunch-hour concerts and a children’s village.

PHOTOS: Independence Village

Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange, addresses patrons at the opening of the Independence Village at the National Arena in Kingston on Wednesday (August 1). The Village will close following the staging of the Independence Grand Gala on August 6.

Minister Grange Pays Tribute to Ancestors

Prime Minister, the Most Honourable
Andrew Michael Holness, ON, PC, MP

8 years ago Culture

Emancipation Message 2018 by Prime Minister The Most Hon. Andrew Holness

My fellow Jamaicans, Each year, the Emancipation celebrations give us an opportunity to reflect on the struggle of our ancestors for freedom, against a system that denied them their dignity and humanity, often through brutally oppressive and violent means. It must have been a euphoric day, today the first of August, 180 years ago, when our forebear gathered in their...

Dr. Peter Phillips, Leader of the Opposition.

8 years ago Culture

Emancipation Day Message 2018 by Dr. Peter Phillips, MP, Leader of the Opposition

My fellow Jamaicans, I greet you in the spirit of freedom that is the essence of Emancipation. Emancipation Day is a timely reminder that our freedom from plantation slavery was the outcome of selfless, courageous actions by Jamaicans, who struggled for centuries to break the chains of their enslavement. The ending of the evils of human enslavement however, only marked...

Copeland Forbes (left) interacts with Music Consultant, Clyde McKenzie during a visit to the offices of the Jamaica Information Service in Kingston on July 31.

8 years ago Culture

Jamaican Music Contributing Positively to National Development

A local music consultant, artiste and industry player have in common theview that Jamaica’s music has contributed to the country’s national development, by generating earnings from foreign exchange through tourist arrivals and the creation of employment. “Our music has economic value. A lot of people want to visit Jamaica because of the culture, because of the music and that serves...

Director and Curator of the Jamaica Music Museum, Herbie Miller.

8 years ago CultureEntertainment

Music Exhibition at King’s House August 2-7, 2018

An exhibition titled, ‘The Music of Jamaica: People, Voice and Song’, will be on display in the Ballroom at King’s House from August 2 to 7. The exhibition will open on the same day of the Independence reception on the lawns of King’s House on August 2, and guests to the event will have a first-hand view of the display...

Wife of the Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Juliet Holness (fourth left), and State Minister in the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Alando Terrelonge (third left), with the 13 finalists in the 2018 Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) National Festival Queen Competition. Occasion was the annual Festival Queen Breakfast, which was hosted at Jamaica House on Tuesday (July 31) by Mrs. Holness, who is the competition’s Patron.

8 years ago CultureEntertainmentYouth

Festival Queen Finalists Will Be Among Future Leaders – Holness

Patron of the National Festival Queen Competition, the Most Hon. Juliet Holness, says she is confident that the 13 finalists in this year’s Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) contest will be among the country’s future leaders. Addressing the contestants during Tuesday’s (July 31) Festival Queen Breakfast at the Jamaica House Banquet Hall, Mrs. Holness noted that the finalists are “bright,...

Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States, Her Excellency Audrey Marks (fourth left), joins the large congregation at the Jamaica 55 independence service held last year at Dumbarton Chapel, Howard University School of Law in Washington DC. (Photo Derrick Scott)

8 years ago CultureForeign Affairs

Jamaica 56 Celebrations in the United States

Jamaicans residing in Washington DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Atlanta will be celebrating the country’s 56th anniversary of Independence with a number of activities from August 4 to 26. The Embassy of Jamaica in Washington DC, under the leadership of Ambassador Audrey Marks, will be engaged in several events, in collaboration with various Jamaican organisations. In Baltimore, Ambassador Marks will deliver...

Executive Director of the Jamaica National Heritage Trust (JNHT), Dorrick Gray. (File)

8 years ago CultureHealth & Wellness

Emancipation Jubilee to Celebrate Rich Culture and Heritage

Jamaica’s rich culture and heritage will be celebrated during the 21st staging of the Emancipation Jubilee at the Seville Heritage Park in St. Ann. The annual event, under the theme ‘Emancipation Jubilee: The Genesis’, will be held from July 31 into Emancipation Day on August 1. It is being organised by the Jamaica National Heritage Trust (JNHT) under the distinguished...