Etana, Vegas, Maxi Priest For Grace Jamaican Jerk Festival....The 14-year-old event is set for the Roy Wilkins Park in Queens, New York on Sunday, July 20

Leighton Levy, Gleaner Writer Published: Wednesday | June 25, 2014

Live performances from entertainers Etana, Mr Vegas and Maxi Priest, organisers have said, are a sure bet to make the 2104 Grace Jamaican Jerk Festival one of the most memorable events.

ETANA

The 14-year-old event is set for the Roy Wilkins Park in Queens, New York on Sunday, July 20, and the organisers are promising that the family-oriented event will be better than ever.

"Our primary focus is to heighten the experience of our patrons, and we have introduced a new layout of the event to allow for easy access into the festival," said founder Eddy Edwards, who, along with Sydney Roberts, staged the festival for the first time at the C.B. Smith Park in Pembroke Pines back in 2000.

"We have increased the number of food vendors, which reduces lines and provides faster service in the food court area. The 'kidz' zone will have more rides, and we will introduce some traditional games and other cultural activities to engage the children as well as keep them in touch with their Caribbean heritage. There are always some new exciting acts on the cultural stage and the Jerk Cook-Off Pavilion will feature some interesting celebrities as well as chefs demonstrating creative jerk recipes", he added.

MAXI PRIEST

On the entertainment side, Edwards said they went for a line-up of artistes that would appeal to the wide cross-section of patrons that usually turn up for the event. "Selecting acts for the main stage is always a very thorough and deliberate action for us as we try to book acts to cover the diverse audience as well as provide good entertainment for the patrons. Although the event is a food festival, we know that the main stage entertainment plays a vital role, as we want patrons to leave feeling very satisfied from the food, music and the general festival experience," he said. The entertainment package will also feature comedian/actor Christopher 'Johnny' Daley.

The festival had very humble beginnings back in Florida where the first staging had a turnout of an estimated 4,000 patrons. more