Thousands Attend Kite Festival in St. Ann

Thousands of Jamaicans attended the annual St. Ann Kite Festival and Family Fun Day at the Seville Heritage Park in St. Ann’s Bay on Easter Monday, April 9.
The event, which was staged by the Friends of St. Ann Promotions, in collaboration with the Jamaica National Heritage Trust (JNHT), saw a variety of activities, including kite flying competitions, donkey and horseback riding, merry-go-round, face painting, bounce about, and other forms of entertainment for all members of the family.
This festival was mainly focused on the family, with the theme being: ‘Bring back the family unity’.
Everton Jackson from St. James told JIS News that it was a pleasure for him to travel the distance with his 10 year-old son, so that they could take part in the kite festival.
“I think that the idea of the kite festival is a tremendous one, as it brings together family members from all over Jamaica as well as from other countries. At a time when there is so much concern about the stability of the family unit, I really think it is a wonderful idea to create this opportunity for families to come together for fellowship, for fun and interaction and an event such as this should be continued in the future,” he said.
Meanwhile, Horatio Brown from Kingston, said that he was visiting the St. Ann Kite Festival for the very first time and that he was already looking forward to the event next year.
“This kite festival is a good event. I used to be a regular kite flier when I was growing up and so I decided to come here and enjoy the day, seeing that I spent the weekend in the parish,” he said. The event also sought to promote Heritage tourism, and Operations Manager at the Park, Joan Seagears told JIS News that the Jamaica National Heritage Trust was proud to be associated with the staging of the event and that part proceeds would go towards the future development of the Seville Heritage Site.
“The large turn out of Jamaicans and foreigners on the grounds of Seville is an indication that there is a great thirst for these kinds of activities and I can safely say that we are poised for extreme success in the quest of the JNHT to promote heritage tourism in a colourful and exciting form to Jamaicans and foreigners alike. The event also serves as a bonding tool for Jamaicans to get back to that point in our history when family life was an integral part of the Jamaican society,” she said.
Mrs. Seagears is appealing to members of the public to continue to support the Friends of St. Ann and the JNHT and help to promote the national heritage as well as to promote the Seville heritage site.