Virtual reggae festival

Sadeke Brooks, Staff Reporter

With the financial downturn, this year's International Reggae Day will be celebrated mostly on the Internet.

The event, which will be held on July 1, is an annual media festival celebrating Jamaica's rich cultural legacy, history of quality music and global cultural impact.

International Reggae Day is hosted by participating Jamaican and overseas media and anchored online at www.ireggaeday.com.

According to the founder and producer of the event, Andrea Davis, it is "a virtual media festival that is intended to use the power of music, media and technology to link people around the world in the celebration, not only of the best of Jamaica, but to highlight the global reggae culture that has grown out our music."

In recent years, Davis said there has been a move to make the festival more online-based.

"There haven't been any concert events as such, although we have done that in the past and we may do that again in the future. In this phase, we are really focusing on building on the power of the social media and the Internet as a way to really expand participation of people around the world," she told The Gleaner, while noting that it would be celebrated throughout the entire day.

The decision to go virtual is also linked to the economic downturn in recent times. Therefore, it would be difficult to get the level of sponsorship needed to host a major concert.

"It has been a really rough financial period, which is one of the reasons why we opted not to go with a heavy event-driven format this year, because those things are costly to produce," Davis said.

"Reading the temperature of the economy right now, it didn't seem like a very good time to strike out on a big venture like that, which would have to be supported by a lot of sponsorship. We have gone this year with the virtual, and we think it is going to be very effective in communicating the experience of a virtual music festival."

This year's event

At this year's event, which is promoting the 'RedGoldGreen ILOVEJA' campaign, there will be several activities. Throughout the day, people are encouraged to play reggae and drink Red Stripe beer, plant a tree and donate to a Jamaican charity. Four notable music-related Jamaican charities that are being highlighted as a way for fans around the world to support Jamaica are Alpha Boys' School, Bob Marley Foundation,Shaggy Foundation and Toots Foundation.

There will also be coverage linked to International Reggae Day on most local broadcast and print media. Davis noted that there would be activities on radio stations in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, Australia and the Caribbean.

In addition, there will be a reggae tree planting ceremony at Emancipation Park in Kingston at 10 a.m. as a symbolic renewal of the commitment of music and media to a better Jamaica. This is intended to highlight the International Reggae Day's global 'Go Green' initiative.

There will also be a forum at the University of the West Indies, Mona, under the theme "Going Forward to our Roots: Reclaiming the Healing Power of Reggae Music".

GETTING SUPPORT

Davis said support would also be coming from artistes in the music industry who would be doing interviews for different media outlets. Those doing shows overseas on the day would also be announcing International Reggae Day as part of their performances.

But the celebration has certainly grown a lot since it started in 1994. Initially, Davis said she had a lot of difficulty getting the media and the entertainment industry to help her in her cause. Now, she has been getting much more support than expected.

"It is something that is being embraced by the media and something that is being supported consistently by the artiste fraternity. I think it has grown, and it has managed to expand its reach and be celebrated by countries around the world," she told The Gleaner.

Davis explained that her decision to start International Reggae Day was prompted by a speech made by Winnie Mandela, ex-wife of former South African president Nelson Mandela. She said Winnie Mandela said reggae music was instrumental in the struggle against apartheid in her country, although they could only hide and listen to it.

"If our music can do something like that for people across the world facing such an adversity, how come it's not doing more for us in Jamaica?" Davis questioned.

As a result, International Reggae Day was born.

"Reggae Day came as an idea, not only to motivate Jamaican media to look at the best of Jamaica, but also to invite media around the world, on one day, to take a serious look at this music that we call reggae, 'cause it has shown itself to be of importance all over the world, not just Jamaica," she said.

"In this phase, we are really focusing on building on the power of the social media and the Internet as a way to really expand participation ...." - Davis