Portland Jerk Festival Launched
June 9, 2008The Full Story
The official launch of the ninth annual Portland Jerk Festival was held at Folly Estates in Port Antonio on Wednesday, June 4.
The festival, formerly a one day event, will be held over a period of three days this year, commencing on Friday, July 4 and culminating on Sunday, July 6 with the main event being the food and music festival.
For the second consecutive year, the main activity will be held at Folly Estates. The other events will include a Fun Day at the Boston Playfield and a Retro-party at Boston Beach on Friday, July 4, and an all inclusive Beach Party at the Frenchman’s Cove Hotel in San San on Saturday, July 5.
Gates for the food and music festival at Folly Estates will open at 10:00 a.m. The retro-party at Boston Beach will be held between the hours of 8:30 p.m. and 2.00 a.m. and the Frenchman’s Cove beach party will begin at 1:00 p.m.
In addition to enjoying a wide variety of jerked cuisine, patrons will be treated to performances by some of Jamaica’s finest entertainers during the weekend of activities.
These include Byron Lee and the Dragonnaires, Beenie Man, D/Angel, Peter Lloyd, Christopher Martin and Noddy Virtue, who will perform at the food and music festival; and John Holt, Coppershot, Jenny Jenny and Dancing Dynamites who will be featured at the retro-party on July 4.
The all inclusive party at Frenchman’s Cove Hotel will feature music by Kurt Riley and Renaissance.
Speaking at the launch, Sybil Rendle, Chairperson of the Portland Jerk Festival Committee, said the members were excited about the festival becoming a three-day event with something for the entire family.
She gave an assurance that the organizing committee is making every effort to maintain the standards put in place to ensure that it continues to be a high quality family entertainment event.
Bringing greetings, Mayor of Port Antonio, Councillor Floyd Patterson exhorted the residents of Portland to pool their efforts to ensure the success of the festival. He pledged the full support of the Portland Parish Council.