Tue | Dec 24, 2024

Stories by Kwela Cole/Gleaner Writer

Published:Friday | August 2, 2024 | 12:06 AMKwela Cole/Gleaner Writer

With an opening ceremony unlike that of past games, the 2024 Paris Olympics kicked off last Friday amid worldwide fanfare. The Jamaica Pegasus hotel, celebrating the occasion, hosted a pre-games fashion parade in its lobby featuring the models of...

Published:Friday | August 2, 2024 | 12:08 AMKwela Cole/Gleaner Writer

Beauty pageant first-timers cosmetic surgeon Dr Sandra Swaby, 52, and health and wellness coach Elaine Allen-Landy, 59, are filled with joy and reflective following Sunday’s Miss Universe Jamaica grand coronation, where the two performed...

Published:Tuesday | July 30, 2024 | 12:09 AMKwela Cole/Gleaner Writer

Twelve weeks of thorough training in philanthropy, style, fitness, culture, beauty, and personality culminated in an impeccable display of elegance and excellence on Sunday evening at the AC Hotel Kingston. The new Miss Universe Jamaica 2024...

Published:Friday | July 26, 2024 | 12:07 AMKwela Cole/Gleaner Writer

Shanique Sinclair is ‘Shanz the Book Fairy’, spreading her long-harboured love of literature to her Instagram followers and members of her Friday Night Bookish Lyme Book Club. Unsatisfied with the existing reading culture in Jamaica, the...

Published:Friday | July 19, 2024 | 12:08 AMKwela Cole/Gleaner Writer

The festive season came early once again with the highly anticipated tenth staging of the annual Christmas in July Trade Show. The exhibition, curated by the Tourism Linkages Network, a division of the Tourism Enhancement Fund, every year sees...

Published:Tuesday | June 25, 2024 | 12:08 AMKwela Cole/Gleaner Writer

Under the moonlight at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre’s open-air theatre on Sunday, 10 beautiful and accomplished women descended onto the decorated stage with backdrop of whites and blues. By the end of the night, one of them would be...

Published:Tuesday | June 18, 2024 | 1:45 PMKwela Cole/Gleaner Writer

The Miss Universe Jamaica pageant is well under way with the countdown to the grand coronation currently at three weeks to showtime. The final night of the prestigious beauty, fashion and wellness competition will see 33 gorgeous contestants vying...

Published:Thursday | May 30, 2024 | 12:07 AMKwela Cole/Gleaner Writer

While the artiste line-up for last Saturday’s Sashi Live at Plantation Cove in St Ann featured heavy-hitting international acts and the new generation of dancehall artistes, also billed was Bounty Killer, a worlwide legend in reggae and dancehall...

Published:Tuesday | May 28, 2024 | 12:05 AMKwela Cole/Gleaner Writer

The last time the Sashi Experience, previously one of Jamaica’s most anticipated, large-scale music festivals, was held was 2002. Now, 22 years later, its founder, Horatio Hamilton, has brought it back to take place in Plantation Cove, St Ann, as a...

Published:Thursday | May 23, 2024 | 12:08 AMKwela Cole/Gleaner Writer

Indo-Chinese fusion restaurant and bar Manzil is hoping to bring authentic eastern flavours to the bustling Jamaican tourist town of Ocho Rios. Head Chef Vinender Singh spent his life prior to opening his north coast restaurant in 2021 training...

Published:Tuesday | May 21, 2024 | 8:09 AMKwela Cole/Gleaner Writer

The newest live music series in Kingston, Soundcheck, kicked off last Thursday at the Dubwise Café. The stage show, headed by event and content producer Carleene Samuels, is the first instalment of a monthly series featuring the hottest young...

Published:Tuesday | May 21, 2024 | 8:10 AMKwela Cole/Gleaner Writer

Last Wednesday evening, the fast-becoming cultural hub of Kingston, The Dubwise Café, became an open-air cinema to host the world première of Lila Iké’s He Loves Us Both music video, featuring American RnB star, H.E.R. The reggae songstress...

Published:Friday | May 10, 2024 | 12:11 AMKwela Cole/Gleaner Writer

Kingston City, once the beating pulse of vinyl culture in Jamaica, attracting musicians islandwide to get their precious records pressed and distributed, has faced a steady decline in the art in the digital age. Recently, as is the cyclical nature...

Published:Tuesday | May 21, 2024 | 8:27 AMKwela Cole/Gleaner Writer

Sofar Sounds, on the afternoon of Sunday, April 27, had patrons arriving at a location revealed only 36 hours prior. Laden with cushions, blankets and curiosity around the list of musical performers which they become privy to mere moments before...

Published:Thursday | April 25, 2024 | 12:08 AMKwela Cole/Gleaner Writer

When Keri-Ann Greenwood entered the Miss Universe Jamaica East (MUJE) competition, her aim was self-development. Little did she know she’d walk away with the top spot. Greenwood, who wore the sash Miss Social Butterfliez Ent, was crowned by...

Published:Tuesday | April 23, 2024 | 12:08 AMKwela Cole/Gleaner Writer

Fresh off the plane, international gospel artistes TobyMac and Kirk Franklin did not disappoint at the Best Dressed Chicken Fun in the Son gospel concert held on Saturday at the National Stadium. It was hard to keep still during TobyMac’s...

Published:Monday | April 22, 2024 | 12:05 AMKwela Cole/Gleaner Writer

Hours before transforming into the weekly held Triple Thursdays, The MECA Jamaica at Marketplace in Kingston had chairs set across the dance floor conference-style in front of a small stage complete with a podium and mic, hosting the launch of...

Published:Saturday | April 13, 2024 | 12:10 AMKwela Cole/Gleaner Writer

Jamaica’s very own ‘Singy Singy’ is warming up his vocal cords in anticipation of the Love and Harmony Cruise. Now in its sixth staging, the cultural experience atop crystal-clear blue waves sets sail from Miami today to embark on a six-day, five-...

Published:Friday | April 12, 2024 | 12:07 AMKwela Cole/Gleaner Writer

The Norwegian Pearl sets sail on April 13 to explore the bright blue waters of the Caribbean Sea for the 2024 iteration of the Love and Harmony Cruise. The musical experience upon the sea is booked out a year in advance and will have onboard over...

Published:Wednesday | April 3, 2024 | 12:10 AMKwela Cole/Gleaner Writer

Following a four-year long hiatus from the music scene, acclaimed Trinidadian soca artiste Kerwin Du Bois made his official big stage return to Carnival in Jamaica at the I Love Soca (ILS) Easter weekend staging in Kingston on Monday. The night...

Published:Saturday | March 23, 2024 | 12:07 AMKwela Cole/Gleaner Writer

On Wednesday night dancehall artiste Valiant traded the heavy-hitting sounds and high energy of dancehall for the intimacy of an acoustic performance through an unplugged session at Tacbar, located at Devon House in Kingston. The Valiant Unplugged...

Published:Friday | March 22, 2024 | 12:10 AMKwela Cole/Gleaner Writer

The smash hit song DNA has fast become a staple in fetes this 2024 carnival season. The artiste behind the song, Mical Teja, may sound unfamiliar to the ears of many fans of soca. But, he has long existed in the space as writer and producer behind...

Published:Wednesday | March 20, 2024 | 12:06 AMKwela Cole/Gleaner Writer

Every year, in a bid to raise awareness, conservation organisations globally recognise Earth Hour. This is one hour on the last Saturday in March where all non-essential electric lights are turned off in solidarity to show commitment to the...

Published:Saturday | March 9, 2024 | 12:10 AMKwela Cole/Gleaner Writer

GenXS has officially launched its second soca season, and, despite making its debut just last year, the band has quickly gained a notable reputation. Revellers across the diaspora, still buzzing with residual excitement from last year’s offerings,...

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