Over 30 events have been organised in celebration of Reggae Month slated for February 2010. The series of activities will be spread across 28 days, featuring an exciting mix of live concerts, symposia, films, parties, workshops, exhibitions, school tours and trade fairs across the island.
The 2010 edition of Reggae Month will seek to highlight and celebrate the roles of key individuals and their contributions to the development of Reggae, with musicians and icons the likes of Bob Marley and Dennis Brown being at the forefront of the celebrations.
The Jamaica Reggae Industry Association (JARIA) has been given the mandate, by the Ministry of Culture, to plan and coordinate the 2010 celebrations which will kick-off on February 1, with a tribute to Dennis Brown, an all-inclusive reception to commemorate the Crown Prince's birthday and mark the official start of Reggae Month.
Thereafter, February in Jamaica will be abuzz with activities including the Marley family hosting Bob Marley birthday celebration, Smile Jamaica at Nine Miles, St. Ann, Bob Marley birthday bash at One Love Drive, Negril, Reggae Villages in Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Negril, and Kingston, Fi Wi Sinting festival in Portland, the International Reggae Studies Conference to be hosted at the University of the West Indies (Mona), Rae Town salutes Reggae Month as well as a special visit by JARIA to Boys' Town and the Alpha Boys School on February 8 and 15, as part of a music expo.
The month long celebrations will ramp up in the final week, with a seven-day musicathon, including a special edition of Jazz in the Gardens at The Jamaica Pegasus Hotel on February 21, the Reggae Month gospel concert on February 22 and on February 27, Knutsford Live, a massive free concert in the heart of the New Kingston, featuring top Jamaican artistes.
On February 28, Reggae Month 2010 will culminate with the JARIA honour awards, the prestigious and glamorous gala event where special recognition will be given to industry pioneers who have figured prominently in the outstanding penetration of Jamaican music culture across the world. This event, provides an authentic barometer for gauging the development of the music and honouring its practitioners.
A host of other smaller events have been planned for Reggae Month including a live concert series exploring the various genres of Jamaican music, primarily Maroon Drumming, Mento, Ska, Rocksteady, Dub, Rockers, Dancehall and alternative fusion forms currently receiving popularity among the youths.
Reggae Month, which was first staged in 2008 by the Ministry of Culture, is a celebration of Reggae music geared at heightening the impact of the musical genre on the country's social, cultural and economical development.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE: THE JAMAICA STAR
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