Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer
Morgan Heritage is among the nearly 60 performers slated for the main stage. - FILE
THE LAUNCH of bmobile Reggae Sunsplash 2006 at the RIU hotel outside Ocho Rios, St. Ann, on Saturday night, was in some ways a welcome party for the renewed festival to the garden parish.
"St. Ann is known as the parish of history, beauty and drama and we are very proud to have back Reggae Sunsplash," said Norma Walters, who works in the office of the Custos of the parish.
"We are glad you wandered, but we are glad you are back home," Walters said.
A PERMANENT HOME
And Wayne Sinclair, managing director of the festival, in welcoming all to "the reunion and restaging of the greatest music festival in the world", made it clear that it is a permanent home, noting that Bob Marley is from St. Ann. "We thought it only fitting that the greatest practitioner of live music in its purest form find its permanent home in St. Ann," Sinclair said.
A long-term home must be bought, leased or rented and Rodney Davis of Cable and Wireless announced that there is some amount of funding in place for the next half-decade. He said the telecommunications company has "made a five-year commitment to the festival because we believe this is the festival Jamaica needs".
"There is only one Reggae Sunsplash," Davis said, noting "its authenticity, its commitment to building reggae music not only in Jamaica but internationally. The key thing is it is all about reggae."
The concentration on reggae was emphasised, as Sinclair said that there is a theme which runs through Reggae Sunsplash. "For us it is reggae, reggae and more reggae. We are holding true to our roots ... This is truly Jamaica's number one reggae festival," Sinclair said.
The bmobile Reggae Sunsplash takes place from August 3 to 6 at the Richmond Estate in Priory, St. Ann, with UB40, Morgan Heritage and Luciano among the nearly 60 performers slated for the main stage. In addition, poetry, dancing and drumming will take place on the seaside amphitheatre stage.
LASTING IMPRESSION
Councillor Dallis Dixon said he hoped Sunsplash would leave "a lasting impression on the citizens of St. Ann and especially the residents of St. Ann's Bay and its environs". Angella Bennett, RIU sales director, smiled as she said "the RIU and reuniting Reggae Sunsplash sounds so good", describing the festival as a "historically and culturally significant event".
There was song and dance to go with the speeches in the function hosted by Paula-Ann Porter-Jones, as singer Mey Vidal swished her hips and flashed a smile in bringing a Spanish flavour to dancehall. And members of the Uzuru ensemble gave a song and dance rapid-fire history of Jamaican music.
