Popcaan hosts off-to-school treat in St Thomas today
With ‘September mawnin’ fast approaching, dancehall artiste Popcaan has a special treat in store for the children of his home parish – St Thomas – today.
For the third year running, the entertainer, through his Popcaan Care Foundation, will fête thousands of children at the Rudolph Elder Park in Morant Bay, St Thomas, and he and his team are promising that “this year will be bigger and better” and every effort is being made to ensure that there are enough supplies for all who turn out.
The off-to-school treat and fun day is scheduled to get underway at 10 a.m. and will run until 6 p.m.
A representative of the Popcaan Care Foundation shared that although the cost runs Popcaan “in the millions” each year, he is extremely happy that it is money well spent.
“This year the event is costing almost $8 million and we are going bigger as we have always run out of bags and Popcaan does not want that to happen. We’ve had a fabulous run with the treat so far and this year will be even more spectacular. Popcaan loves St Thomas and continues to show just how much this time of year. We just want all the children to come out and have a good time today.”
Last year, Sharon Williams, the office manager for Popcaan’s Unruly Entertainment, noted that although they were behind time in terms of the planning of the event and did not have enough time to approach potential sponsors, between the $3 million from Popcaan and $3 million from Clarks out of the UK, they were able to provide 1,000 bags and cater for 1,000 children with snacks and drinks. In the first year, the foundation treated 700 children.
“This treat is one all of St Thomas looks forward to and so the anticipation is usually high. Thousands of children come out and they receive well-needed school supplies and have a good time. We pride ourselves on making the event fun and look forward to once again putting some smiles on the faces of both the children and their parents,” the representative stated.