Little Ochie’s Richard Rowe jerking corn at their booth at the Rainforest Seafood Festival last Wednesday.

WESTERN BUREAU:

The days of discriminating against the lionfish are over, as fishermen embrace the meaty mammal, instead of throwing them away.

Last Wednesday, at the start of Lent and the staging of the third Rainforest Seafood Festival, the lionfish was as sought after as any snapper, Jack, salmon or grouper.

Steamed, grilled, fried, escoveitched or roasted, fish was the most dominant seafood on show.

The Lion Fish prepared by the Montego Bay Marine Park was a favourite among patrons.- Janet Silvera.

“The lionfish is a cross between grouper and butterfish. It is very fleshy, absorbs seasoning exceptionally well, and because they are scavengers, they eat only live food, such other fish and lobster,” Montego Bay’s Marine Park’s Hugh Shim tells Food.

With the sensitisation in the market, the lionfish is now being sold at $500 per pound.

As stewards of creating an environment that will serve this and the next generation, Shim said he was heartened that the fish, which is known as a predator, had found acceptance with Jamaican fish lovers.

The Marine Park booth was part educational, part restaurant, while next door the Little Ochie eatery received the most attention because of its delicious garlic lobster, tasty jerked corn and sweet escoveitched fish and festival.

In photo: Fried fish at the Little Ochi booth.-Janet Silvera.

The entire team seem to have been moved from Alligator Pond in St Elizabeth to the Catherine Hall Entertainment Complex venue, as Little Ochie did not have hands to feed the hundreds whom flocked their booth.

“Their reputation precedes them, that’s why we waited in a line to be served Little Ochie’s food,” said patron Petrina Rowe.

A few chains from Little Ochie, another iconic St Elizabeth spot – Middle Quarters Shrimp – was creating waves with their peppered, garlic and curried shrimp.

Their shrimp fritter was a hit with the crowd, and they, too, didn’t have enough hands to serve the number of persons that converged on their booth.

In photo: Little Ochie’s Richard Rowe jerking corn at their booth at the Rainforest Seafood Festival last Wednesday. -Janet Silvera.

At the Rainforest Seafood booth, fish burgers, lobster and salmon pasta, and the seafood soup had patrons going back for more. The fish burger was particularly very popular with children.

Aiming to raise $10 million this year for the Cornwall Regional Hospital, approximately 8,000 persons attended the seafood festival, which operates under the ‘We Care’ umbrella.

janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/food/20170309/rainforest-seafood-festival-fish-and-more

Anthony Osbourne (right) in a bout with Rikardo Smith in a past season of the Wray and Nephew Contender Series.

Contender boxing fans outside of the Corporate Area, will get a chance to see some live action tonight, when journeyman Anthony Osbourne and aggressive Patrick Miller trade punches at Colonel’s Cove in Morant Bay, over six rounds, starting at 7 p.m.

This will be the first of three roadshows that are being put on this year by the promoters of the Wray and Nephew Contender 2017 series, as a prelude to the start of the main competition on April 5.

The other roadshows will be at Island Village on Friday and Breds Sports Park in Treasure Beach, St Elizabeth, March 17.

GOOD PERFORMANCES

Osbourne and Miller have both participated in the Contender series and have vowed to give good performances tonight, with the hope that they could perhaps make it into the main competition.

Osbourne, 40, has been a professional since 1998, and has had over 50 fights. His record shows 11 victories 40 losses, and one draw, but he will tell you that many of those losses should have been recorded as victories. He is known to be an excellent defensive fighter and this has led to many of his defeats, as he does not score enough punches to impress the judges.

Miller, who is also 40, said that he will be “coming to fight” and that he is “ready for action.”

He has only 10 fights, for a 6-4 record, although he has been in boxing for a long time.

“I am just not able to get more fights so as to improve my record” he lamented, but declared that he had worked hard over the past several weeks, and would be “taking it to Osbourne. I am going for a big win.”

There will be three amateur bouts as curtain-raisers to the main event.

Source: http://jamaica-star.com/article/sports/20170308/contender-series-takes-it-road

Randy Ebanks (second right, front) shakes the hand of Douglas Orane, retired business executive, who, along with Food For The Poor, funded the construction of a new house for Ebanks recently. Other persons who helped to build the house are also captured in the photo.

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Food For The Poor Jamaica, in partnership with Douglas Orane, former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GraceKennedy Group, will be constructing a two-bedroom house for 64-year-old Castie Anderson, who has been sleeping on the sidewalk of the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) for more than 20 years.

During a visit to KPH by a team from Food For The Poor Jamaica, a security officer and an elderly woman informed them that Castie had been sleeping on cardboard boxes for approximately 20 years and washed her clothing on North Street in downtown Kingston.

According to an advisory from Food For the Poor, Castie said she was living in the Stony Hill area with family members and left because she felt they were taking advantage of her. She gave birth to four children, three of whom were taken by their father.

The fourth child was placed in a foster home after her father died when she was four years old. Castie was unable to prove to the state that she could care for the child, the advisory added.

Source: http://m.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/64-y-o-woman-who-slept-on-KPH-sidewalk-for-20-years-to-get-house#disqus_thread

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Castries, 7 March 2017

#CPL17
Hero CPL’s St. Lucia team announces its new brand identity

The Hero Caribbean Premier League’s St. Lucia Zouks has launched a new visual and brand identity known as St. Lucia Stars with a logo that is inspired from the home country of the team, St. Lucia.

The new logo and the identity is meant to give the team, St. Lucia Stars, a new bold and vibrant identity. The decision comes from the franchise owners and management who decided to rebrand the name, keeping in mind the line-up of the team’s superstars.

The Chairman of the franchise, Jay Pandya, who leads this change said, “We wanted the identity to represent St. Lucia and anyone who supports the team associates with the traits of being St. Lucian. When we were making the decision to bring this change and we were looking for inspiration, we just had to look within and bring out the spirit of St. Lucia. They are stars in every might and proud to be Born Lucians.” He feels positive and looks forward to this year’s CPL.

The design of the logo stems from the home country of the team. Three core elements that form the logo are The World Heritage Pitons, the colour of the flag and the cheer – Born Lucian. The Pitons signify the height this team can achieve and the impact it can have on the people of Saint Lucia. The colours of the flag are splashed on the logo which everyone around the globe associates with St. Lucia.

St. Lucians are warm, welcoming and are deeply connected to their roots which is what makes them ideal global citizens of this world. They take pride in what they do and make sure they are the best while playing the sport in the right spirit. They also enjoy these moments to the fullest just like every proud St. Lucian does. The cheer – “Born Lucian” – captures this and the team represents these traits making them one of the most likeable teams in the Hero Caribbean Premier League.

The captain of the team, Daren Sammy, is excited about this new identity. He said, “We definitely want to live up to what the logo represents and play like stars as we look to win the CPL this season. Hopefully, this change will bring in good luck for us. To be “Born Lucian” means we take pride in what we do and we do it wholeheartedly. And we want this to resonate with our fans and make them feel proud.”

-ENDS-

For further information:

Anuradha Maiya (Anu)

Media Relations Manager

anu@stluciastars.com

OR

Peter Breen
Head of PR and Communications
Caribbean Premier League
Mobile: +1-758-7287500 (Caribbean)
Mobile: +353-85-7205752 (Ireland)
Skype: pbreen67

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bridgetown, 6 March 2017

Click HERE to access the audio interview with Ron Parikh ahead of the Player Draft on Friday

The Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2017 Player Draft takes place this Friday and the Jamaica Tallawahs will be plotting to defend the title they won in dramatic fashion in 2016. Tallawahs owner Mr. Ron Parikh reflected on his memories of the 2016 campaign and looks forward to the journey of recapturing the Hero CPL 2017 title.

“This year’s squad is going to be younger, leaner and hungrier than last year as the road back to the championship is going to be tougher. Our boys are ready to take on the challenge to show people that we are still the champions and hopeful at the end of the Hero CPL 2017, we will still be the champions”.

Click HERE for more.

ABOUT THE HERO CARIBBEAN PREMIER LEAGUE:

The HERO Caribbean Premier League (CPL) is a franchise-based T20 format cricket tournament that combines two of the most compelling aspects of Caribbean life – dramatic cricket and a vibrant Carnival atmosphere. Over 149 million fans watched the 2016 season, combining broadcast and digital viewership, to make it one of the fastest growing leagues in world cricket. Jamaica Tallawahs are the current Hero CPL champions and the other competing teams are Barbados Tridents, Guyana Amazon Warriors, St. Lucia Zouks, St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots and Trinbago Knight Riders.

-END-

For further information please contact:

Peter Breen
Head of PR and Communications
Caribbean Premier League
Mobile: +353-85-7205752
Skype: pbreen67

Wray and Nephew’s popular Contender series, will start on Wednesday, with the first of three road shows, which the promoters have stated will be an exciting build-up to the start of the regular series which kicks off on Wednesday, April 5 at the Chinese Benevolent Association auditorium on Old Hope Road in Kingston.

The first of the road shows will see veteran boxer Anthony Osbourne, who has appeared in the Contender series on a couple of occasions, going up against Patrick Miller, who himself is a Contender “graduate”, at Colonel’S Cove in Morant Bay. The second show will take place at Island Village in Ocho Rios, St Ann, on Friday, March 10, featuring Kevin ‘Bus Boy’ Hylton and Glenroy ‘Bumpy’ Beckford, and the third show on Friday March 17, at Breds Sport Park in Treasure Beach, St. Elizabeth, will have a showdown between hometown boxer Jermaine Vassell and popular Miguel ‘Iron Dog’ Raye.

HIGH ENERGY

Commenting on the road shows to The Gleaner, Wray and Nephew’s Marketing Manager Pietro Gramegna said that he was “enthusiastic and excited about the new series which we are calling ‘the Best of the Best’, as several former champions will be back this year. We are starting with this high-energy series of road shows because we want our loyal and enthusiastic rural supporters to see some live action, and I am sure that they will enjoy themselves”.

Boxing Board President Stephen “Bomber” Jones has praised the idea of taking the show on the road, and said that it showed that sponsors Wray and Nephew fully supported the Board’s idea of having live boxing shows outside of Kingston. “Taking the experience of the live boxing matches outside of Kingston is something that we suggested to the sponsors and we are very happy that they have made a start this year. We are sure that our fans outside of Kingston will support the move wholeheartedly.”

Mark Kenny, who promotes the series, told The Gleaner that he wanted this year’s competition to be the best ever and was optimistic that the road shows would be a popular innovation. He said that former champions such as Devon Moncrieffe and Sakima Mullings are expected to participate and that the Jamaicans will this year be going up against boxers from Canada. “The competition this year should be very exciting”, he added.

There will be delayed broadcasts of the three road shows on Television Jamaica and the weekly shows will be broadcast live each Wednesday night.

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/sports/20170306/contender-series-hits-road-wednesday

Fish is a rich source of nutrients needed for young bodies and play an important role in helping to prevent many diseases later in life. As part of ongoing efforts to encourage Jamaicans to include more fish in their diet, Rainforest Seafoods has continued providing more of the healthy protein to Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) students at the Iris Gelly Primary School in Kingston.

Fish helps build strong, healthy muscles and bones, and helps repair scrapes and scratches that are part of growing up.

Through this effort, Rainforest Seafoods is ensuring that all the students at the school registered for the GSAT examinations in March will have the proper nutrition they need.

“While growing up we were told that fish is good for the brain. No doubt children need healthy food and protein is an essential part of this process. These students will be sitting their GSAT examinations soon and we want to ensure that they are healthy before and during the process,” said Roger Lyn, marketing manager at Rainforest Seafoods.

Corporate chef, Evrol Ebanks and his team worked with the school’s canteen staff to prepare child-friendly meals including pineapple fish with coconut and vegetable rice. “We think healthy and child-friendly when it comes to preparing meals for children. Instead of ketchup we use fruit punch, and with the fish we used a light coating of seasoned flour to add a little bit of crunch to the fish,” Ebanks said.

Overwhelming Experience

Veronica Gaynor, principal at Iris Gelly Primary, said she was elated that Rainforest Seafoods has once again chosen her GSAT students for this initiative. “The school is in an environment where persons cannot really afford some of the food that the children need for good nutrition. I don’t know how to say thanks to Rainforest for all that they have been doing at the school. It has been an overwhelming experience for the students,” Gaynor said.

More than 180 GSAT students at the institution will benefit from the efforts of Rainforest Seafoods.

Twelve-year-old Alliah McLeod who said she wants to attend Immaculate Conception High School said she is working hard to make this dream a reality. “I am thankful and grateful for what Rainforest Seafoods is doing for us. Many of our parents can’t afford the food we need and we are grateful to them for helping us,” McLeod said.

Lyn explained that the company is further committed to assisting the school by giving the kitchen a facelift so that the staff can function more effectively and efficiently.

keisha.hill@gleanerjm.com

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20170303/rainforest-seafoods-promotes-healthy-lifestyle-iris-gelly

Western Bureau: While other acts might have struggled to connect with the audience of adults and children, it was all smooth sailing for veteran crooner Cocoa Tea at Wednesday night’s Rainforest Seafood Festival in Montego Bay, St James.

While new female voice Shenseea, the action-packed Tifa, Ding Dong, Grampa Entertain, promising Jahmiel, gospel singer Kevin Downswell, Romain Virgo (who brought on Busy Signal as a surprise guest and also got some ‘strength’ from Cocoa Tea) and Bounty Killer all had their moments, Cocoa Tea was dazzling.

Sounding as crisp as a new compact disc, the singer churned out hits as, in addition to his catalogue’s gems, he also dipped generously into those of reggae greats such as Bob Marley, Sanchez and Gregory Isaacs.

The audience responded with glee to Rastaman Chant, Rikers Island, Love Me Truly, Good Life, Holy Mount Zion, Bob Marley’s Waiting in Vain, Gregory Isaac’s Number One and Tune In; plus Sanchez’s version of Here I Am.

When Cocoa Tea ended his assigned 30 minutes, the happy audience demanded an encore, and he responded with Sonia and 18 and Over.

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/entertainment/20170303/cocoa-tea-sweetens-seafood-fest

Ding Dong and his Ravers Clavers dancers in performance at Rainforest Seafoods.

At Wednesday’s Rainforest Seafood Festival in the Catherine Hall Centre in Montego Bay, St James, it was a ‘wifie’ and ‘matie’ delight as Tifa, with her trademark confidence, not only sang her hot songs, but also bubbled and gyrated seductively while making it clear that, “no gal no hotter dan me”.

Ding Dong and the Ravers Clavers brought a lot of excitement to centre stage, and in addition to unleashing compelling dance moves, spoke about some of the ills plaguing the society, including the killing of children. A girl who is probably no more than five years old, joined them on stage and showed amazing raw talent.

Jamiel was spot on in delivering from his growing catalogue, especially with his single, True Colours. He also encouraged good family values, urging fathers to be there for their children, especially sons.

Bounty Killer and Romain Virgo did well, but probably lacked real potency. Romain was fairly decent, especially on Rain is Falling, Love Doctor and Buju’s Wanna Be Loved. The performance got a boost from Busy Signal’s Jamaica Love and Cocoa Tea’s delivery of Here I Am.

With the children around, Bounty Killer, who closed the show, decided against being cross, finding creative ways of addressing recommendations of banning Vybez Kartel’s music, bleaching and deviant sexual practices. He was good on songs like Look, Sufferer and ever-popular Another Level.

Shenseea and Grampa Entertain came close to the edge lyrically, but did not go overboard and were both well received. The affable Shenseea had the younger fans enthralled, especially when in demonstrating the dance to Jiggle Jingle. Grampa Entertain could do no wrong, getting the fans really moving with Frowzy Taxi Man.

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/entertainment/20170303/entertainment-social-commentary-catherine-hall