Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) has extended the deadline for entries to the National Festival of the Performing Arts competitions to January 10, 2025.

The move offers potential participants additional time to enrol in the annual event.

For the upcoming competition, the JCDC invites aspiring and seasoned performers to compete in various disciplines, including speech, drama and theatre arts, music, dance, deaf dance, and traditional folk forms.

While there has been a favourable uptake so far, the JCDC has noted feedback from its stakeholders that some performers will require more time to complete the entries for the 2025 season.

In addition, earlier this year the commission launched JCDC Awards Force, the online registration portal for all its competitions, and a number of stakeholders have requested additional time to become more familiar with the platform.

JCDC executive director Lenford Salmon noted that while the original deadline date of December 13, was met, the commission wants to give all the interested persons a fair opportunity to submit their entries.

“This is the first season that we are utilising the online registration platform in its totality. As with anything that is new, it takes a while for everyone to become au fait with how it operates. This extension is just to capture the persons who are becoming familiar with the new platform, as well as anyone who, for whatever reason, were yet to submit their entries,” he explained.

“I just want to appeal to performers to use this additional period to submit their entries. The National Festival of the Performing Arts is such a cultural institution that we want everyone to be included. Remember we don’t need a final product, whether it be a dance, or song, or poem to be ready at the time you are submitting your entry. It means that those wishing to participate can submit the names and titles of presentations they will be performing on the day of the parish audition,” Salmon added.

For the upcoming festival season, the JCDC will yet again be combing the length and breadth of Jamaica in search of talented Jamaicans in the creative industry. It stands on a very proud and enviable record of success, as evidenced by the renowned stalwarts who ‘cut their teeth’ on its annual Festival of the Performing Arts Competition.

Interested participants are encouraged to visit the JCDC website at www.jcdc.gov.jm to view the rules and guidelines, and to complete their registration on the JCDC’s digital platform at jcdc.awardsplatform.com.

For additional assistance, participants can also contact or visit their nearest JCDC parish office.