Claudia Gardner, Gleaner Writer

Grange

WESTERN BUREAU:

Minister of Information, Culture, Youth and Sports, Olivia Grange, says children of parents who frequently attend all-night entertainment events during the school week, might be at a serious disadvantage, as they will be lacking the necessary parental guidance.

The minister made her comments during an interview with The Gleaner in Montego Bay recently.

"Some communities tend to have events during the week, and if it ends six, seven or eight in the mornings, I think it has a negative impact on children because their parents should be busy getting them ready for school, but at that time they are just going home to sleep," the minister noted.

"In a lot of instances it is one parent and in most instances it is the mother," she added. The minister said dancehall sessions would be more profitable for promoters if patrons show up earlier as opposed to attending in the wee hours of the morning. She said many dancehall fans including herself, who were keen on attending the sessions, were finding it hard to do so.

'Come out earlier'

"I believe we should appeal to patrons to come out earlier, because even myself, I used to go to the sessions, but now, sometimes it is difficult for me to get up out of bed and come out at two in the mornings and get dressed to go to the sessions because that is when it swings, because that is when the people come out. So I would like to encourage patrons to maybe come out a little earlier so that the vibes can start early," Ms. Grange said.

"And the promoters, in fact, need the patrons to come out earlier because when they come out late there are not enough hours when the promoters can sell liquor and food and other things to make any money off the bar.

There was a time when you just open up this thing because you make the money from the bar. But now they come out in the wee hours of the morning so sales are not impressive," the minister added.