775 Communities To Benefit From Independence Grand Gala
Entertainment and culture minister Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange doesn’t regard the annual ‘emancipendence’ celebrations as a mere series of events, but an economy-building force that empowers and salutes Jamaicans.
Speaking during the launch of the Jamaica 62 independence festival last week, Grange said 775 communities will benefit from employment opportunities at the Independence Day-held Grand Gala at the National Stadium in Kingston.
“We have a series of activities from early in the year called the ‘Festival of Arts’…” Grange started. ”At the end of it, we select our medalists…and these are the individuals and groups that perform in the independence village and at the Grand Gala.”
She added that more performers are recruited across St. Catherine, Kingston and St. Andrew.
“We take performers and we train individuals in the communities of Portmore, Spanish Town, Tivoli, Duhaney Park, Windward Road, Olympic Gardens. We take them through three weeks of training and choreography, so when you come to the Gala and you see 2,000 performers out there, they are drawn from communities in Kingston and St. Andrew, and the plains of St. Catherine.”
She encouraged Jamaicans to support the event as a way to strengthen smaller industries involved in its execution.
“We create an economy at that time: the dressmaker, the tailor, the caterer, the individuals who bend the wire to make the costumes, we are able to provide employment during that period. So, it’s not only about the performers, it’s not only about the events and about the shows, but it’s about a creative economy that we create during that period when we build up toward our independence celebrations.”
This year’s celebrations will unfold from July 31 to August 6 under the theme ‘Jamaica 62: One love, to the world’. Flagship activities include the Emancipation Jubilee, the Jamaica Festival Queen contest, and the Jamaica Festival Song and Jamaica Gospel Star competitions. Songs from the competitions will be made available on all digital platforms.
The Jamaica Festival Song road show also returned on Friday.
The events are executed by the Ministry, through the implementing agency the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission. They are made free thanks to top sponsors like J Wray & Nephew Limited.
“In the coming weeks, Jamaica will come alive with an array of events including church services, parish vigils, flag-raising ceremonies, festival bandwagons, street dances and independence concerts,” Grange said. “It all will come to a crescendo on Independence Day, August 6, with the Grand Gala, featuring performances, cultural displays, spectacular fireworks and, of course, the now immensely popular drone display.”
She continued, “Together, let us make this year’s celebration truly amazing. I hope you will all wait with baited breath to see, this time around, we move from 300 drones to 700 drones for that spectacular drone show.”