JCDC weighs options amid COVID-19 pause - 230 entries received for Festival Song Competition
Published:Sunday | May 17, 2020 | 8:25 AMYasmine Peru/Senior Gleaner Writer
By the month of May in any given year, the many and varied events and competitions staged by the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) islandwide would have been in high gear. Each year the JCDC rolls out its much-anticipated menu board which features an exciting array of performing, entertainment, literary, visual and culinary arts competitions, with many of them accepting entries from as early as September of the previous year. However, with COVID-19 impacting and disrupting every area of life, the JCDC, just like the hundreds of other entities which manage events, has pressed the pause button. A post on their website states, “All JCDC events postponed until further notice amid COVID-19. Continue to keep safe, as we all try to help flatten the curve.”
In an interview with The Gleaner, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange reinforced this reality. “We are currently adhering to the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health and Wellness. All of our activities attract large groups of people but the social-distancing rules mean that we cannot congregate hundreds of students, teachers and judges together as we normally do, so we have suspended all competitions until the health authorities say it is safe to resume,” she said.
The competitions covered under the JCDC Entertainment Arts Programme are the Miss Jamaica Festival Queen Competition; Jamaica Children’s Gospel Song Competition; Jamaica Gospel Song Competition; Jamaica Festival Song Competition; World Reggae Dance Championship and The Big Stage. Before the wheels stopped turning, the entry deadline for the 2020 Festival Song Competition had been extended from the end of February to Friday, April 17, and the process, by all accounts, had been robust. Minister Grange told The Gleaner that approximately 230 entries had been received.
MIXED APPROACH
She noted: “This year, for the first time in its history, there was a mixed approach to taking entries. There were three live auditions in different parts of the country and we were still taking entries via the traditional methods. Even after April 17 we are still getting calls and emails from persons showing interest in the competition.”
The three live auditions were held in Montego Bay, Mandeville and Kingston, and offered an alternative to persons who did not submit a recorded track as their entry, as is normally the procedure.
Additionally, the anointed top 10 finalists in the Gospel Song competition had been selected from the top 26 semi-finalists from across the island at a concert held on Ash Wednesday, February 26, at the Louise Bennett Garden Theatre in St Andrew. The chosen finalists are Deon McDonald of St Mary with God You Are Real; Father Reece of St Catherine with Satan Gu Weh; David Sutton of St Elizabeth with Our Response, and Sheri-Gaye Johnson of Clarendon with I Will Worship. Representing Manchester are Nadine Torey with Ambushed, and the Euphoria group with Live Today. The finalists from St James are Oliver Ashley with No Bargain, and Treisha Williams with One Dose of Holy Ghost. Kingston and St Andrew are being represented by Martanek Phipps with Ye Who’s Without Sin, and Offneil Lamont with Forever God.
Andrea McCurdy, events coordinator, National Religious Services & Projects at the JCDC, stated at the time that, “The finalists will now begin preparation for their journey to the finals which will include voice, music and industry-based developmental workshops, recording the finalists’ album and performances and outreach across the island.”
However, whether all that will come to life is an ongoing discussion.
“We are considering several options for all our competitions, but given the uncertainty created by the coronavirus we cannot give a final position at this time. Our next steps are dependent on the signals from the health authorities,” Minister Grange told The Gleaner.