Sport & Entertainment
| Apr 13, 2022

Jamaica Rum Festival is back… but in the Second City

Juanique Tennant

Juanique Tennant / Our Today

Reading Time: 2 minutes
Attendees at the 2020 staging of the Jamaica Rum Festival held in Hope Gardens (Photo: Twitter @RealTruJuice)

With restrictions under the Disaster Risk Management Act now a thing of the past, the Jamaica Rum Festival (JRF) will return this summer for its fourth staging.

Unlike the event’s most recent physical staging, held in 2020 in Jamaica’s capital city, Valon Thorpe, director of Jamaica Rum Festival, said that, when the event returns this year, all roads will lead to the Second City of Montego Bay in St James.

Making the announcement of the festival’s return date and new location, Thorpe told attendees at last evening’s (April 12) official JRF launch: “We are back outside. The Jamaica Rum Festival will take place on Saturday, June 25, 2022…”.

Valon Thorpe, director of the Jamaica Rum Festival, addresses attendees of the festival’s official launch held at Devon House on Tuesday (April 12).

He noted that, for the first time in the festival’s history, it will be hosted in the island’s tourism capital at Harmony Park, “the latest recreational focal point of the (Second) City”.

The move is strategic as the festival aims to work alongside the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) and the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) to position the event as a premier tourism destination.

Not to forget the lessons learned from the pandemic and the power and reach of the digital sphere, Thorpe informed that this year’s festival will be a hybrid staging.

“This year’s hybrid staging will offer rum, food, light music, culturally enriching experiences, and art in one physical and digital package,” stated Thorpe.

Media practitioner Debbie Bissoon hosts the official launch of the 2022 Jamaica Rum Festival held at Devon House in St Andrew on Tuesday (April 12) (Photo: Our Today/Ategie Edwards)

He added: “Though COVID-19-related restrictions have been lifted, we remain committed to having locals and visitors enjoy safely so we will have limited tickets available for an elevated Jamaica rum experience.”

Despite hosting the festival in the Second City, pop-up dates for Kingstonians will be announced in short order, for satellite viewing and virtual participation.

In closing, the festival director affirmed: “Jamaica has evolved beyond sun, sand and sea. Our culture, art, food and music, and our rums have since captured the hearts of millions.

“The Jamaica Rum Festival is the bridge that connects these indispensable hallmarks of the true meaning of the Brand Jamaica and is a platform for captivating storytelling of what it truly means to be a Jamaican.”

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