THREE DAYS OF NON-STOP ACTIVITIES AT TREASURE BEACH BREADBASKET FESTIVAL

Patrons of the Treasure Beach Bread Basket Festival will be able to sample the flavour and taste of St. Elizabeth with the inclusion of a Farmers’ Market which will run for the duration of the three-day festival, May 27 to 29 in Treasure Beach, St. Elizabeth.

The organizers of the festival believe the Festival has been aptly named as it is to be held in St. Elizabeth, which is considered the bread basket of the nation because most of the fresh fruits and vegetables consumed by Jamaicans are grown in that parish. In addition, farmers and fisherfolk will have an opportunity to sell their produce and catch to the thousands of patrons who are expected to flock the festival.

The Farmers’ Market, which takes place at Kingfisher Plaza in Treasure Beach, will have a wide array of freshly harvested vegetables, produce and fruits for sale. In addition, there will be a Food Court featuring jerked chicken from the overall 2010 CB Pan Chicken Champion of Champions, Oliver Bailey, who is also proprietor of Oliver’s Dutch Pot in Treasure Beach,. Fried fish and bammy – a staple for residents of St. Elizabeth - will also be on sale by the many vendors who will be on location.

The Treasure Beach Bread Basket Festival kicks off at Taino Cove on Friday, May 27 with a night of culture which has been dubbed Fries Day, at which a tantalising entrée of Jamaican Culture specially prepared for the Bread Basket Festival will be served. This event which is supported by the Jamaica Cultural Development Corporation (JCDC) will be helmed by Internationally renowned, Jamaican Storyteller Amina Blackwood Meeks and will feature the Grange Hill Jonkunnu Band; the Manchioneal Cultural Group performing Quadrille and Bruckins, dub poetry from Royal African Soldiers; drumming from local talents the Shane Brothers; Sister Carol; Scripture and Bongo Shem from St. Thomas; school groups which entered the JCDC Festival competition and the Treasure Beach Girls’ Group - the youth arm of the Treasure Beach Women’s Group. The evening’s fare will be rounded out by dancing music from Senor Daley of Classique Disco.

The fun is expected to continue on Saturday, May 28 with the Talking Trees Literary Fiesta set to kick off at 9:00 a.m. with recorded talk at 2 Seasons Guest House before moving into a ‘Readings’ segment to be headlined by Nigerian author A. Igoni Barrett, winner of the 2005 BBC World Service short story competition and the 2010 Chinua Achebe Centre Fellowship. Other participants in the Talking Trees Fiesta will be popular newspaper columnist and author Robert Lalah; two-time winner of the Una Marson prize for literature, Garfield Ellis; founder of the Independent VoYces Literary Fair Judith Falloon Reid and playwright and actor Keiran King who will be reading from his musical Last Call, which is set in 1949 at what was then the largest and most prestigious hotel in Jamaica, The Myrtle Bank Hotel. Other performers at the Talking Trees Literary Fiesta will include MalachI Smith, Nova Gordon Bell, Tomlin Ellis, Pamela K. Marshall, Sonia King, Veronica Blake Carnegie and Joy Simons Brown. The Fiesta will also include a children’s village, which will have activities for children of all ages.

The action will move that evening at 7 o’clock to the beautiful beachside location of Frenchman’s Reef Restaurant and Bar, where classically trained chanteuse Sharon Martini and classical pianist and Jamaican folk music aficionado Denny Davis will present an eclectic evening of musical meanderings dubbed An Evening of Song with operatic arias, Jamaican folk songs, Negro Spirituals, show tunes, jazz and more. This event is a fundraiser and proceeds will benefit a victim support fund for abused women in St. Elizabeth.

Saturday’s events culminate with Calabashment at Jack Sprat Restaurant. This event, which is expected to attract a bumper crowd, will take the form of a stage show featuring headliners Reggae soul singer Etana, Protégé and Rootz Underground. The show is slated to begin at 9:00 p.m. and is free to the public.

The Treasure Beach Bread Basket Festival culminates on Sunday, May 29 with the Bread Basket Brunch at the Sunset Resort and Villas, starting at 9:00 a.m. According to Kory South, proprietor of Sunset Resort, the brunch will feature a delectable fare of the finest products of St. Elizabeth, together with live entertainment.

The Treasure Beach Bread Basket Festival’s final event will be an Art and Fashion show at Calabash House, featuring the launch of Masii, a new line of Caribbean fashions by Jackie Cohen of Mutamba and designs by Elizabeth Eyre Seltzer, fabric artist and designer. An art exhibition, showcasing several Jamaican artists, including some from the Treasure Beach community, will also be a part of the event’s offerings.

The Treasure Beach Bread Basket Festival is sponsored by the Tourism Enhancement Fund, Power 106, Music 99FM, Bess 100FM, Newstalk 93FM, treasure beach.net , with support from the Jamaica Tourist Board, the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo) and the south coast chapter of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA).

Contact: Denise Wedderburn
Tel: 876-774-6313
Email: dwdewdrop54@gmail.com

A reminder that we've got a page with the event schedule etc. A clip of the radio commercial has been added as well

Should be a great festival!

-TBNet

Sounds just as good as Calabash! Well looking forward to being there.

Cant wait to see you all, my lovely dear friends that I have not seen in a year - first in 10 years I have not been out there twice in a year!! (Due to my daughter having twins last Oct).

This time next week will be on the plane, although I must admit not looking forward to the 10 hour flight (please dont let me be surrounded by crying children this time!) but the thought of my dearest friend Evelyn and Preston waiting for me at Mo'bay will keep me going!!

Two weeks off from taking peoples claims for social security benefits - yippee cant wait!!

one luv
Jean