Montego Bay Celebrates 25 Years as a City in October

October 2005 will be 25 years since Montego Bay acquired city status, and the St. James Parish Council is pulling out all the stops to make this silver anniversary a special one.
Public and Community Relations Officer with the Parish Council, Suzette Brown told JIS News that a special committee, chaired by Councillor Richard Solomone has been put in place to plan the celebrations to mark the occasion.
She said the plan is to have a week of activities from October 2 to 9, which should include a Civic Ceremony re-enacting the proclamation of city status in Sam Sharpe Square.
The square would also be the venue for a display of traditional foods in a rural village setting, dubbed ‘Bay Fest Cultural Extravaganza’, Miss Brown explained.
Councillor Solomone told JIS News that he was encouraging all residents of Montego Bay to be a part of the activities, pointing out that while the parish council was acting as the driving force for the implementation of the activities, only the full involvement of all the people of the city could make the event a meaningful one.
He said the theme adopted for the planned week of activities was: ‘MoBay 25.Reflection, Celebration, Expectation’.
With the annual Atlanta/Montego Bay Sister Cities Health Mission and the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce ‘Expo’ slated to be held in October, discussions have been held to have both events coincide with the week of activities.
It has also been disclosed that the official naming of the parish council’s municipal building in honour of former Mayor of Montego Bay, Cecil Donaldson, will take place during the week, along with an awards ceremony to recognize a number of persons who have made sterling contributions to the development of the city.
Several sporting events are also being planned for the week.