by Howard Campbell
ATLANTA – After a two-year break, the Atlanta Caribbean Jerk Festival returns. It is scheduled for September 4 at Southeast Athletic Complex in Lithonia, Georgia.
The comeback event is produced by Glen Simmonds Events which is represented by Cheriel Simmons whose husband Glen started the Atlanta Caribbean Jerk Festival in 2005 as an intimate backyard affair. A stalwart of Atlanta’s Jamaican community, he died in 2019 at age 55.
In addition to local and out-of-state chefs manning booths showcasing jerked cuisine, the event will have a strong musical flavor. Freddie McGregor, his son Chino, Christopher Martin, Bling Dawg and comedian Christopher “Johnny” Daley are part of the entertainment package.
McGregor headlined the previous show which took place September 1, 2019 at the same venue.
A native of St. Ann, Glen Simmonds migrated to the United States in 1986 and attended Morehouse College in Atlanta. He tapped into the growing popularity of jerked food in major cities throughout the US when he started the Atlanta Caribbean Jerk Festival 17 years ago.
The Atlanta Metropolitan area has over 250,000 residents of West Indian heritage, most of whom are Jamaican.
