Heart of Kingston Cultural Group has big plans for Downtown

Laing

DOWNTOWN Kingston's quiet nights are about to change if the Heart of Kingston Cultural Group has its way.

The group plans to revive entertainment in downtown Kingston.

Downtown Kingston starts from the waterfront and ends at Torrington Bridge. This section for some years has been classed as 'dead' in terms of entertainment and the cultural group has been working to revive it since 1994.

Fifty years ago, downtown Kingston, starting from South Parade to North Street, was the entertainment centre and the place to be. It was the home of many bands, clubs such as Silver Slipper, theatres, halls and had a bustling nightlife.

It was home to the Ward Theatre, Marcus Garvey's Liberty Hall as well as other entertainment areas. Now, apart from a few events held at the Ward Theatre, not much else exists in terms of entertainment.

Thriving commerce in the form of shops and stores gives the area life in the days but at nights the capital is a lonely place where few people dare to go.

There are those who believe that the commercialisation of the city may have caused the death of entertainment since most of the merchants were more interested in making money than providing areas for recreation.

"Kingston was kept alive by people living in the city but it soon became a warehouse. It's not like a big city, where people live on the top floor of the buildings. It was allowed to falter because the big money played a role in the death of entertainment in the city," explained Tony Laing, who is a member of the Heart of Kingston Cultural Group.

But commercialisation isn't the only thing being blamed. The violence has been a turn-off for people who would go downtown for entertainment. "The violence has also affected it but it was commercialisation that changed everything," Laing added.

Now, with the exception of Rae Town on a Sunday night, a month-end event put on by the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) Sports Club at the Hotel Oceana and the new year's celebrations, not much else happens.

The cultural group intends to involve the people of downtown and it's environs in their plans to revive entertainment.

Under the Urban renewal programme, a cultural centre is being considered for Rae Town. "I can't say if there are any plans to specifically deal with downtown entertainment. But there are plans under the Urban Renewal Programme to fix up downtown," a spokesperson at the Urban Development Corporation said.

Despite entertainment not being placed on the agendas of several of the agencies the Heart of Kingston Group will be going ahead with their plans.

"If we declare this a 'Coney Island zone', we are talking about down Orange Street, around the parade, Kings Street and up to North Street. We'll put out kiosks and reggae up the thing so that the surrounding communities survive, that's the plan. That's why we established the Heart Of Kingston Cultural Group which is based on the revitalisation of the heart of Kingston," Laing explained.

The group's plan doesn't stop there. They also plan to create a second eight-hour shift with a six in the evening to six in the morning amusement park concept. "When the six in the morning people done mek dem money like they do now MPM (Metropolitan Parks and Market) clean up the city and give we it and we start the six to six amusement," Laing added.

The plan involves marketing reggae music which had it's birth in Kingston.

There are also plans to unite the people and get them involved in the revitalisation by encouraging community spirit. This community spirit will come through encouraging people to keep their surroundings clean and uplifting their community. To achieve this, the Heart of Kingston plans to utilise the existence of Marcus Garvey's Liberty Hall, which is located on King Street, Downtown.

"The people have been ready since 1994 but Liberty Hall has stalled because of Government funding and other problems," he said.

When Liberty Hall is completed, the group plans to make it into a tourist attraction.

However, with all the grand plans, the perception that downtown is an unsafe location still lingers in the minds of people. But Laing is unperturbed by this. "Rae Town is very much downtown. Downtown used to cross with uptown at Cross Roads when you had House of Leo and Tropics. Uptown people still come to Rae Town. Once the people are successful in anything, uptown always comes in eventually," he said.

"Kingston isn't as bad as anywhere else but things do happen. Things have happened in Seattle, Italy and elsewhere. I'm not going to tell you it's not volatile but when there are programmes and concepts and those concepts are bringing in economic revenue then things will change," he added.

Back to Entertainment