THE Corporate Area streets became a kaleidoscope of colour on Sunday as thousands of costumed revellers celebrated the final event on Jamaica’s annual carnival calendar — the road march.

The gyrating ‘sea of colour’ with accompanying music moved through sections of the city much to delight of onlookers, who lined the side walks to witness the spectacle, capture the memories on cellphones, or to even join in on the festivities.

This year was unprecedented as a total of four bands took to the street – Xaymaca, Xodus, Byron Lee’s Jamaica Carnival, and Bacchanal Jamaica.

Michael Ammar Jr, director of Bacchanal Jamaica, said he was “pleasantly surprised” with the turnout.

“We’re almost as big as we were last year. The crowd is fantastic, the vibe is fantastic. The competition is good as it made us lift our game. We have all the top deejays, we have KES. I don’t think you could want better,” Ammar Jr told Jamaica Observer yesterday.

During the procession, KES the band, with its lead singer Kees Dieffenthaller, provided its usual high-energy brand of entertainment. KES did favourites including Wotless, Fallin, Million and was in the middle of the crowd for People.

Ammar Jr said nearly half of his revellers were from outside the island.

“It is absolutely shocking. We have a least 50 per cent overseas people in the band, or maybe even 55 per cent. I’ve spoken to several of them and they say Jamaica carnival is a great value and Bacchanal is the only choice… And I agree with them,” said Ammar Jr.

First-time reveller Tanisha Scott — choreographer for Sean Paul, Drake and Rihanna — gave the Bacchanal band the thumbs up.

“I was invited by Sean Paul’s Jodi [Henriques] and I’m enjoying it; the freedom is unbelievable. Everybody is so friendly… there’s nothing but love on the road and it surely brings out our motto: Out of Many One People,” said Scott, who was born in Canada to Jamaican parents.

New Yorkers Typheny Griffiths and Patrina Gayle expressed similar sentiments.

“It’s our first time and we’ll definitely be back,” said Griffiths.

This year, Bacchanal’s road march started in Liguanea then went down Hope Road, onto Lady Musgrave Avenue, before traversing Trafalgar Road. The party then moved to Waterloo Road, West King’s House Road, down Constant Spring Road, and culminated in New Kingston at the LIME Golf Academy.

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/Soca-in-the-City_96605

“Humbled.”

That is how Julianne Lee reacted to the turnout for yesterday’s road march which saw the return of Byron Lee’s Jamaica Carnival band to the streets of the Corporate Area.

The group had been off the circuit for seven years. However, last year the band took a trial run.

“Based on an overpowering urge to continue the legacy of Byron Lee, Jamaica Carnival was ‘rebirthed’ with new energy and a new direction. I am tremendously humbled by the turnout and the support from our sponsors. It is obvious from the day’s proceedings that each reveler had a good time, especially the Edna Manley students who copped our costume design competition and created their own designs for the road. Byron Lee would be proud,” Lee told Jamaica Observer yesterday.

Byron Lee was the band leader who launched Jamaica Carnival in 1990. He died from cancer in 2008 at the University Hospital of the West Indies at age 73.

Julian Lee, his daughter, is now CEO of Jamaica Carnival. She described the feeling of experiencing the road march again.

“Seeing the sea of revelers chipping down Hope Road brought back the most amazing memories for me. All of them came out for Byron Lee’s Jamaica Carnival. We were extremely privileged to have many soca and dancehall artistes jumping with us and performing on our trucks — in addition to Beenie Man and Bunji Garlin, Fayann Lyons, Alison Hinds, Iwer George and Jumo, as well as Supa Hype, DLife and DJ Spice.”

Lee and her team are already looking forward to next year’s event.

“We already have big plans for 2018, some already in the preparatory stages. We are excited about that but will disclose those soon. If this year is any indication, 2018 will be another successful staging,” Lee added.

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/Jamaica-Carnival-s-rebirth_96624

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Port of Spain, 24 April 2017

#CPL17

Hero CPL announces dates for ‘biggest and best’ campaign

CEO Damien O’Donohoe says fifth installment of Hero CPL will be ‘the year of the fan’

The stage is set for the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) to be the biggest and best party tournament to date, after tournament organisers confirmed that the fifth instalment will start on Friday, 4 August with St. Lucia Stars welcoming 2015 champions Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) to the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium.

The 34-game competition, which will be staged in seven countries over a six-week period, will conclude with the finals onSaturday, 9 September, with the name of the host country set to be announced in due course.

The times for the Florida swing of matches have been confirmed, while the remaining start times will be confirmed in the coming weeks.

There will be the usual blend of day and night games, with the starting times to be announced shortly, and the St. Lucia opener will lead into two keenly-contested double-headers in Central Broward Stadium in Lauderhill, Florida (on the weekend of 5-6 August) where Guyana Amazon Warriors will face Chris Gayle’s St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots and Barbados Tridents squaring off against reigning champions Jamaica Tallawahs in back-to-back games.

The action will then move to Port of Spain in Trinidad & Tobago which will run simultaneously with the St. Lucia leg of matches (from the week of 7 to 15 August), before Guyana and St. Kitts & Nevis host the middle legs of the biggest party in sport (from17-23 August).

As the race for one of the coveted finals berths heats up, the final rounds of matches will be held in Jamaica (from 25 August – 1 September) and Barbados (from 29 August – 3 September). Finals week will begin with a play-off on Tuesday, 5 September before the two eliminators and the finals, which will round off the 2017 tournament on Saturday, 9 September.

Looking ahead to the 2017 campaign, Hero CPL CEO Damien O’Donohoe said; “We are delighted to announce the dates of the Hero CPL fixtures earlier than usual this year which we believe will enable fans, sponsors, media and all of our key stakeholders ample opportunity to plan their trips and holidays for the biggest party in sport.

“Last year was the tournament’s biggest, with a global TV and online audience of almost 150 million and in the region of 250,000 fans attending our games. We are determined to enhance the fan participation across each venue, ensuring an even better experience for the many thousands of fans who will descend on each of our seven host countries.

“Once more we have the best talent in world cricket across our six teams. There has been a lot of eye-catching transfers, with Chris Gayle, Lendl Simmons and Dwayne Smith moving sides in the close season and the likes of Afghanistan’s exciting leg-spinner Rashid Khan, Chris Morris and Kane Williamson set to make their tournament bows. We are excited to welcome such a high calibre of talented, local and international players to the Hero CPL in just a few months’ time.

“It is our pledge to make the 2017 Hero CPL the ‘Year of the Fan’ and there’s a lot of work going on behind the scenes to showcase all that is great about Caribbean culture, society and sport around the world.”

Tickets will go on sale in the coming weeks online from www.cplt20.com.
HERO CPL FIXTURES 2017

-ENDS-

For further information please contact:

Mobile: +353-85-7205752 (Ireland)
Skype: pbreen67

Jamaica’s former world boxing champion Alicia ‘Slick’ Ashley will be on the island from April 24-28 as the special guest of J. Wray & Nephew Limited (JWN) for a weeklong series of activities dubbed the JWN ‘EmPOWERment’ Tour.

The JWN EmPOWERment Tour will include self-defence workshops and motivational talks delivered by Ashley to young adults in Kingston and St Elizabeth.

JWN chairman Clement ‘Jimmy’ Lawrence, commenting on Ashley’s visit said “Jamaica has produced numerous world class athletes and, indeed, world leaders in many industries, so there were many persons with whom we could have worked. We decided to partner with Alicia on this tour because of her own commitment to giving back and making philanthropy a hallmark of her career even while remaining a successful boxer.”

The local boxing fraternity also expressed support for the initiative. Leroy Brown, general secretary of the Jamaica Boxing Board, said: “It was such a thrill to hear that J. Wray & Nephew has invited Alicia to be a part of this tour. She is a role model to females and young people in general. We at the board wholeheartedly believe that Alicia’s life story, work ethic, and general attitude will make a terrific impact on the persons with whom she will engage during this EmPOWERment tour.”

Ashley is a five-time world champion and has been entered in the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest female boxing champion. She currently resides in New York.

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/sports/20170421/ashley-visit-ja-speaking-tour

Tsetsi “Lights Out” Davis moved into the second stage of the Wray and Nephew White Overproof Rum Contender Series after scoring an unpopular split decision against Team Canada’s Dave Leblond at the Chinese Benevolent Association Auditorium on Wednesday night.

Team Jamaica now leads the charge 2-1 to take home the Wray and Nephew “Best of the Best” Contender Series main prize of $2,000,000 and the title of Jamaica’s Ultimate Junior Middleweight Contender at the end of the fourth stage of the championship.

Judges Keith Brown and Clifford Brown scored the bout 49-46 and 48-47 in favour of Davis, while world-renowned boxing judge Benoit Roussel scored it for the Canadian 48-47.

It was close going throughout the entire fifth round with the Canadian showing superior hand speed, nimble-footedness and scoring points to the face and body of Davis. Notwithstanding, Davis held in there in the latter rounds with his technical approach after scoring with repeated shots to the body and a few head shots from counters in the earlier rounds.

Leblond, speaking through a translator, said: “I thought that I won the fight four rounds to one, but it was a good fight and I have accepted the decision of the judges. He also said: “I am willing to return to face Davis in another fight.”

Davis said: “I fought the final rounds of the bout with a certain amount of discomfort in my left shoulder and for that, it was a close fight. But I did enough to win and I thank God for that. Some of the crowd will be for me and some of them will be against me. They have their say. They paid to see us fight and their views should be respected.”

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport/-Lights-Out–scrapes-controversial-Contender-win_96266

Wray and Nephew Contender crowd favourite, Tsetsi “Lights Out” Davis, makes his 2017 debut in the competition tonight, against Canadian David Leblond, at the Chinese Benevolent Association auditorium, in a fight, that on paper, looks like a mismatch. The night’s action starts at 8.30 p.m. with two amateur bouts, and the main event, which will be broadcast live by Television Jamaica, goes on at 9.30.

Davis has appeared in every Contender series since its inception in 2013 and has reached the finals twice. He lost to Devon Moncriffe in 2013 and to Sakima Mullings in 2014. Last year he bowed out early when a clash of heads in his encounter with Richard Holmes senthim packing with a serious cut over his right eye.

“This is my year,” he told The Gleaner yesterday. “I have trained hard, I am ready and I plan to go all the way” was his bold prediction. He is one of the seeded boxers in the competition, and had what was seen as the luck of the draw in the first round of the competition, when he picked Leblond’s name at the pre-fight draw. Leblond, who is a brash 23-year old boxer, has had only one fight as a professional, but his camp points to the fact that he learnt his skills as an amateur.

Record No Bother

“Do not pay any attention to his record,” was the word from his camp yesterday” as he put some finishing touches on his training.

“We are here to win and we know who we will be fighting. We have studied tapes of Davis in action, and have noted some weaknesses that we

intend to exploit. We are the underdogs and that is fair, but we have a plan of action, and there will be a big upset tomorrow night,” was the final word. In the first fight on the series, Jamaica’s Sakima Mullings fought Winston Matthews, a Canadian with only one win and two draws, and the feeling was that he would have had an easy passage. He was pushed all the way however, and ended up with a close decision. Will history repeat itself? We will certainly know tonight. In the meantime, Davis has been posted as the firm pre-fight favourite.

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/sports/20170419/tsetsi-davis-bows-action-tonight

With four bands participating in Carnival in Jamaica for 2017, competition is at its peak. However, organisers of Jamaica Carnival, the brainchild of the late Byron Lee, said they are unfazed by the packages put forward by their rivals.

“We are the Carnival that is all about inclusion and we don’t want our revellers to forget that. We will have the best musical presentation in carnival this year,” Jamaica Carnival’s director Julianne Lee said.

Lee, who was speaking at a stakeholders meeting at the Blue Mahoe Suite at the Courtleigh Hotel on Wednesday afternoon, said Bunji Garlin, Fay-Ann Lyons, Alison Hinds and Iwer George have all been added to the entertainment line-up for Road March next Sunday.

She also revealed that there will be several music trucks on the road with deejays Supa Hype, Kurt Riley, DLife and DJ Spice all slated to bring the soca heat from their turntables.

“We might not have the expensive costumes and the big branding presence out there but we have great line up for you, and it’s all about the music and all about the entertainment as far as we are concerned,” Lee said.

“It is going to be a wonderful experience so everyone needs to come out and just have a good time.”

“We are looking forward to seeing everyone on the road as we are all about inclusiveness and giving back to the people.”

The Jamaica Carnival team will be on the road from noon on carnival Sunday and will be walking from Hope Gardens to the Half-Way Tree Transport Centre in Kingston.

Source: http://jamaica-star.com/article/entertainment/20170415/top-soca-stars-jamaica-carnival-road-march