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May 21, 2006
Sunsplash Hosts Lively Launch in Ocho Rios
By: Claude Mills
Photos By: Carlington Wilmot
The organizers of this year's Reggae Sunsplash 2006 festival ushered in the return of the original reggae festival with great panache during an unveiling ceremony at the RIU Hotels and Resorts in Ocho Rios, St Ann, on Saturday, May 20.
When the drums of the Kingston Drummers began to speak, the posh, ritzy hotel was transformed into an ancient unpredictable jungle paradise, and the tourists loved it. A Caucasian woman, who was staying at the resort, wheeled her physically challenged son to the crowd gathered before the lightning hands of the drummers, and the child clapped his hand in obvious glee at the rhythmic, decadent sounds.
That is epitome of what Reggae Sunsplash is all about, bridging gaps between people, and creating a space where people of different backgrounds can meet, converse and leave with a better understanding of each other.
The unveiling featured a smashing performance from Cuban singer Mey Vidal whose 'You Wanted My Baby' on the 'Tempted to Touch' riddim went over well with the audience. She will be performing at the festival on August 4, and her debut album, 'Esa Cubana' will also be released soon.
According to the organizers, this official launch of Reggae Sunsplash is being held to reach out to the St. Ann community, who the organisers believe is integral to the continued growth and success of the festival.
Earlier, the media fraternity was taken on a short tour of the festival's new home, a sprawling 200-acre property in Richmond Estate, Priory, and will feature over 100 acts performing for more than fifty six hours from August 3 through to 6, 2006. There was also a sneak preview of performances from some of the acts being showcased on the festival this year, including the Professional Moves Dance Company and the Kingston Drummers.
There will be craft and an art village set up in the venue to showcase other aspects of Jamaican culture, and there will be an amphitheatre set up near the sea. The venue has its own distinctive charm, with a small forest of rocks not far from the amphitheatre where one can wonder around and be one with nature. About 100 metres west of the amphitheatre location, there is a crescent-shaped inlet where the incoming waves are broken into two by the breakwater, then come in to whisper against the sandy shore that is the ideal place for a beach party.
"It will all be completed on August 1 at 12 noon, we do the sound checks, and then rehearsals on Tuesday and Wednesday, and put on the roof on the main stage, and that's it, we're ready," Charles Campbell, director of operations and producer for Reggae Sunsplash 2006, told YardFlex.Com.
The bMobile-sponsored festival will feature 56 hours of entertainment from over 112 acts performing over the four nights and the organisers have vowed to keep the momentum flowing non-stop.
Victor Essiet, a Nigerian reggae star whose album 'One Love, One World' is due out in record stores soon on his own Mystic record label, was in attendance at the event, as well as Russell Gerlach of Foundation Media. Native Wayne Jobson, a producer at Indie 103.1 Radio, an LA station was also present at the 'walk and talk' tour.
Some members of the media complained about the ho-hum f actor of the media tour, but what the tour lacked in pizzazz at the venue, the organizers more than made up for at the RIU hotel, and then some.