As Tropical Storm Earl continues to move further away from the island, the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) has confirmed that the Emancipation and Independence activities scheduled to take place from today onward, will go on as planned.
The Independence Village at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre was closed at 6 p.m. on Monday, forcing organisers to postpone the finals of the Miss Jamaica Festival Queen Coronation Show, which was scheduled to take place at 8 p.m. that same evening.
The independence Village remained closed yesterday, forcing the postponement of the Aunty Roachy Festival and the Fashion Greets Music Show which were set to take place last night.
A representative from the JCDC told The Gleaner that the activities scheduled for today onward will go on as planned. New dates have been set for those events that were postponed, and persons holding tickets to those events will be allowed admission to the event on the new dates as their tickets will still be valid. Patrons are being asked to check the JCDC website for the new dates as they are expected to be released shortly.
The JCDC was obeying orders issued by the Minister of Local Government Desmond McKenzie, as he ordered a cancellation of all mass events due to the threat of tropical storm Earl. The minister issued the advisory at a press conference held at the Office of the Prime Minister on Monday evening.
Several entertainment events were affected by the inclement weather impacting the island from Monday evening into Tuesday night. Those events that weren't postponed or cancelled were forced to end prematurely as the storm inched closer to the island. Among the events affected was the CUJ Gosplash, the final day of the 2016 Denbigh Agri-Industrial Show, as well as Flex Weekend's Chug It, held at Sugarman's Beach.