Grace Jamaican Jerk Festival- South Florida 2013

November 10^th 2013 saw the 12th installment of the Grace Jamaican Jerk Festival- South Florida. This year was of great significance as the event had a week of activities beginning with the “Hot Trot Jerk 5KRun/Walk culminating with the family fund day and concert series. I also had the opportunity of viewing the festival from a media perspective.

 

Jerk Fest Main Stage
Photo by: Carl Gordon
Reggae Illustrated 

The main stage had an impressive lineup, which included Jamaica’s top show band, Fab 5 band out of Kingston Jamaican, Jamaica songstress Etana, Veteran dancehall artist “Mr. Buddy Bye”, Johnny Osborne and the royal family of reggae Morgan Heritage. Despite facing some technical difficulties Fab 5 gave a memorable performance and brought dancehall artist Khago on stage to do his version of the monster hit single “Nah Sell Out ” which was well received by the crowd of over 20,000 patrons jamming in Markham Park. Jamaican Gleaner article, “ Morgan Heritage also gave a phenomenal performance as they took to the stage to close the night with a number of their well known songs.”

Etana
Photo by Carl Gordon
Reggae Illustrated

Etana would rock the crowd for over 40 minutes, with hits like “I Am Not Afraid, “wrong Address”, and “Warrior Love.” Johnny Osborn gave a decent performance, but was better received by the older folks in the crowd. I did not to see Morgan Heritage perform as I left the park close to the end of Etana’s performance. However according to a

Eddy Edwards
Photo by: Carl Gordon
Reggae Illustrated

Speaking at the press reception, Eddy Edwards JamaicanJerk Festival franchise noted that there are plans to bright the festival to Washington DC next year. This past July was the third staging of the festival in Queens, New York and there are plans to expand the series to other areas of the United States. Social media and digital marketing play a pivotal in this year staging of the “Jerk Fest” (as it is some time called) as Facebook and Twitter were utilized to get the message out.