Food & Good Vibes for the Whole Family
FORT LAUDERDALE – Get your family ready and tell a friend that Markham Park in Sunrise is the place to be on Sunday, November 9, 2014 for South Florida’s premier food and entertainment event, the Grace Jamaican Jerk Festival.
In this, the event’s 13th year, expectations are high and the festival promises to be “the most fun you’ll ever have.” There will the usual delectable assortment of jerk delights, popular cooking competitions and demonstrations, as well as informative and entertaining cultural presentations. The children will have loads of fun in the Kidz Zone and to top it off, popular reggae artistes will deliver high-octane performances on the Main Stage.
Festival CEO Eddy Edwards says this year is all about turning up the fun. “We want our patrons to have a most fun experience from the moment they enter the gates until they leave.” He is also pumped about “Jerk Week” which was introduced last year. The exciting Hot Trot 5k Walk/Run will kick off “Jerk Week” and will feature Olympic and World Champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and other sport celebrities. You can learn how to create the best jerk dishes at the Publix Cooking School event on November 5 and hobnob with musical celebrities at the Welcome Party at First Fridays on November 7.
For the big day, November 9 at Markham Park, there will be food and more food. The Publix Cooking Pavilion is a Jerk Festival hot spot where top chefs and armature cooks alike test their cooking chops in the Jerk Cook-off and Celebrity Quick Fire Challenge. Winners of these competitions get bragging rights, cash prizes and the coveted Dutch Pot Trophy for the Jerk Cook-off champion.
But it’s not just about the food. You’ll also get a healthy serving of history, culture and entertainment on two cultural stages. The popular Western Union Cultural Stage and the Fuzion Soundstage will take patrons on a cultural trip with drama, music and dance — providing a great opportunity to expose youngsters to Jamaica’s phenomenal and diverse culture.
VP Records Celebrates 35
Jamaica is famous around the world for its music — from ska to rocksteady, roots reggae to dub, lover’s rock to dancehall — and VP Records has been at the forefront of the island’s musical evolution. This year marks VP’s 35th anniversary when its founders Vincent Chin and his wife Patricia moved their headquarters from Kingston, Jamaica to Jamaica, New York, transforming their operations into the largest reggae company worldwide. To celebrate this milestone, VP Records will tell their story and showcase the history of reggae music with a special pop-up exhibit to be unveiled at the event.
If you love to party, you’ll have to swing by Hot Zone at De Party Pavilion where deejays Jazzy T, Waggy T Innocent, Eccentrix and DJ Twiggy will be playing all the latest hits and some old time favorites. You can test out your skills in the popular dance contest and bring the dancehall vibe to the park.
As usual, the event will end with a musical explosion on the Main Stage. An exciting lineup of reggae artistes including the world renowned Inner Circle, the smooth saxophonist Dean Fraser, Luciano the “Messenjah”, Tarrus Riley who is known for his smash hit, “She’s Royal” and Duane Stephenson from “August Town” will bring their brand of music to keep patrons rocking. From beginning to end, this festival will offer tons of fun for the entire family.
The 13th Annual Grace Jamaican Jerk Festival is presented by Jamaican Jerk Festival USA, Inc., in association with Jamaica Awareness, Inc. Sponsors are Grace Foods, Publix Super Markets, Western Union, 1-800-411-PAIN, Jamaica Tourist Board, Red Stripe, Caribbean Airlines, Toyota of Hollywood, Lexus of Pembroke Pines, Vitamalt, National Weekly, Jamaicans.com and SunnyBiz Transport.
The festival is a sanctioned as a Broward 100 celebrations event.
