DESPITE LIGHT showers of rain, the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) put on a successfully fun 'Augus' Fair and Jamaica Night' on Emancipation Day, Friday, August 1.
When The Gleaner arrived at the front lawn of the complex holding the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre and the Louise Bennett Garden Theatre on Hope Road, St. Andrew, the rain was half-heartedly attempting to put a damper on the proceedings. As a result of the heavy drizzle, most of the crowd was attempting to squeeze sardine-like under the two large tents. Others shared the stalls displaying products on sale while a few braved the elements, armed with their umbrellas.
As soon as the rain paused, however, many people quickly deserted the tents and went back to browsing the grounds. The rain proved to have been very useful. It had not fallen hard enough to make the grounds mucky, but dampened it enough to keep down any dust, as well as make the rest of the afternoon rather cool.
FOOD AND CRAFT
The grounds were rimmed with stalls selling food and craft. Food on sale included jerk chicken and pork, asham, banana fritters, run-down (which unfortunately tasted more like plain mackerel with a touch of coconut milk), festivals and 'johhny cakes'.
The craft stalls included tams, clothing, woodwork, ceramics, paintings and several stalls featuring jewellery.
Many of the activities catered to the very young, including go-carts, a minature merry-go-round which was spun by hand, a bounceabout and a donkey cart ride. Of course, many children found other ways to entertain themselves. The cries of 'Yo-Yo! Yo-Yo! Yo-Yo! $50!' outside the gates seemed to have been very effective, since quite a few children entertained themselves with the toys, evidently newly-bought. Others played ball and still others simply ran around the grounds being children.
The adults were not to be left out of the fun, however. Most of their fun came from the stage, but often entailed their own involvement. Several contests were held throughout the day, for prizes from the varying sponsors, which included Coco-Cola and Digicel. The contests included a 'Miss Lou Poetry' contest which saw renditions of Coward Man (which won), Roas' Turkey and New Scholar. There was also a few rounds of bingo as well as dance contests for adults and children.
Of course, the Augus' Fair and Jamaica Night also included performers, who were generally taken from the varying competitions put on by the JCDC. From the 'Popular Song Contest', there were performances by Vinnie Taylor, the second runner-up with Happy Home. The winner of the competition, Stefan 'Pennincilin' White, performed Tour Guide.
Everton Chambers, the winner of the singers' portion of the 'Talent Search Competition', also performed his winning Shine Your Light. From the same competition, Donald 'Doctor Fish' Ross performed his winning deejay entry Raw. The song, which simply replaced the food items in Super Cat's Vineyard Style with different fishes, largely consisted of Ross yelling 'raw, raw, raw, raw'.
Earlier in the day, there had also been performances taken from the performing arts competitions and the Jamaica Night portion included 'Brukins Party' and 'Ni Nite' demonstrations.
As such, despite the rain, the Augus' Fair and Jamaica Night was a good way to spend Emancipation Day.
