MoBay Reggae Nights kick off Sunday at Harmony Beach Park
Published:Friday | October 28, 2022 | 12:05 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
MONTEGO BAY’S entertainment offerings will be raised a notch with the introduction of a monthly themed event called MoBay Reggae Nights, starting this Sunday at Harmony Beach Park along Jimmy Cliff Boulevard in St James.
Businessman Dwight ‘Debo’ Crawford, who spoke at the launch held recently at Pier One Restaurant, said that the event, which will be staged on the last Sunday of each month, will provide live reggae music, art, and a wide arrangement of Jamaica foods geared towards providing an entertainment package that will attract Jamaicans and visitors alike.
According to Crawford, the cultural-themed MoBay Reggae Nights event will showcase the very best of Jamaica’s culture in various forms.
“What we are trying to create is an event that will showcase the best of what we have in Jamaica,” he said.
“I remember walking on the road and seeing tourists looking for things to do. While there is rum and music and other forms of entertainment, we need to have a place where somebody can go and listen to live music, spend an hour and know more about this wonderful art that we have here ... and so the birth of Montego Bay Reggae Nights,” he shared.
The event, which is powered by the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB), Rainforest Seafoods, Outlier, Harmony Beach, St James Municipal Corporation, and endorsed by the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), is being touted as a game changer for the local tourist industry.
“This will be carried out in a safe, interactive and immersible manner, aimed at highlighting the best of Jamaica’s culture, music, creative arts and our food,” said Crawford.
“My vision is that one day Carnival Cruise Line or Royal Caribbean will want to step over because there is an event that is worthy of having them spend their time here to experience our food, our culture, our music, and all the other creative things that we have here in Jamaica,” said Crawford.
Dr Carey Wallace, executive director at the TEF, said MoBay Reggae Nights is an amazing gift to the country’s tourism offerings.
“Putting this on is such a gift to us as a country. No wonder the TEF and the JTB are happy to be part of it,” said Wallace.
“We recognised that we are in a developing country where we need to create economic opportunities for our people. That’s why I am pretty keen on the growth of this event. Seeing it move from inside Harmony Beach Park to it being so huge that it is spilling over on to the Jimmy Cliff Boulevard fully, even as we at the TEF are looking towards developing the Boulevard,” said Wallace.
“As we plant this seed today, it will grow and have room to grow. And I share that vision that it will let ships overnight because of it,” Wallace said. “It will let more chartered flights come in, and it will make more people decide on coming to Jamaica,” he declared.
Endorsing the event, Robin Russell, first vice president of the JHTA, said hoteliers will be sending their guests to the event because they are in need of other activities outside of the beach to top up their Jamaican experience.
“We now have guests in our hotels that want to do so much more and no longer want to be behind walls,” Russell said, noting that attractions such as Chukka Adventures and rafting are doing well because people are looking for an experience that they can put on social media.
“This is an opportunity for Jamaica and as hoteliers, we have to endorse these events. We have to promote these events, we have to make sure our guests experience these events,” he added.