A section of the huge crowd which braved the rains to enjoy the festivities of the Harbour Fest Independence celebrations held at Kingston's waterfront yesterday. -Norman Grindley photoGlenda Anderson, Staff Reporter
THE OMINOUS dark clouds overhead, and intermittent bursts of light drizzle, which shrouded the waterfront in grey, were not enough to keep away a mid-sized crowd of curious onlookers at yesterday's Harbour Fest in Kingston.
Several first-timers had even braved the weather to attend the three-year-old celebrations. By late afternoon, the crowd had grown significantly, however, stretching over a couple hundred metres.
"It's my first time here. I don't know if it's Miss Lou coming back, which kind of made this year's Independence celebration a little bit more special for me but something just strike me and I had to come out," said Norma Reynolds, who had come in from Spanish Town for the promised festivities.
The event which started almost an hour later than the scheduled mid-day, pulled patrons from as far away as Old Harbour, St. Catherine. While the light drizzle had scattered the main audience to line the piazzas on the Ocean Mall, little groups constantly flowed in and out of the area. A pocket of faithfuls lined the water's edge, awaiting the boat races.
Initially it was a laid back, family fun day atmosphere with some persons sitting on the walls or in groups, picnic-style on the green. Food was in abundance even as vendors said last year's event had claimed a much bigger and kinder crowd. The entertainers took to the stage in the main area which had been set up directly in the car park facing the waterfront.
A very large bounce-about and simulator entertained both children and adults. But the late start and threatening showers had already put a damper on the evening for others.
"It's completely depressing, because you can't really get to walk," said Lolita Jones, who along with her husband, Trevor Jones, had come in from Old Harbour for the event with their granddaughter.
"We came expecting to see something like a parade, a float, but we haven't seen anything yet. Most of the craft is the same thing you'll see in the craft markets, and they are still expensive," Mrs. Jones said.
"This looks like a joke thing to me. It would be more meaningful if it were properly organised," one man offered. "One of the problems is that we don't have a programme, and there are too many things planned for today. They would get much more support but it's because of the day they planned it. You have Denbigh, Caymanas and other things planned for the one day. They should even try to get the tourists in, you need the spending crowd."
Lively and entertaining performances by the Tivoli Gardens Dancers, a cultural group and a special demonstration by the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), served to lift the evening. And persons in attendance were looking forward to even more as the sun began to peep from behind clouds.
