Moon Author's Review
Several annual events are worth being in Kingston for, including Bacchanal, which runs February to April; the Reggae Film Festival, held the last week in February; the Observer Food Awards held in late May; Caribbean Fashion Week in early June; and Restaurant Week, typically held the third week in November when participating restaurants slash prices and feature culinary novelties. The Strawberry Hill High Stakes Backgammon Tournament, held in the nearby Blue Mountains, is a must for dedicated fans of the game with an appetite for competition.
The Excellence in Music and Entertainment Awards, more popularly known as the EME Awards, celebrate the best in Jamaican entertainment, with a ceremony staged each year in early February. The brainchild of renowned 102 FM radio personality Richard "Richie B" Burgess, the awards ceremony is filled with pageantry and grandeur a la Jamaicana, with women sporting the latest hairstyles, and the biggest deejays of the day passing through with entourages 20-plus strong.
Jamaica's Girls and Boys Championships, better known as Champs, is an annual track and field meet held in late March that sees Kingston's hotels booked with fans from home and abroad who come out in hoards to watch the competition. The energy at the National Stadium is palpable, with fans screaming and waving for their schools.
Moving Mountains (www.movingmtns.posterous.com) is a three-day house music festival held each year in on the third weekend in March at Strawberry Hill. Held the week before the Winter Music Conference in Miami, Moving Mountains brings house DJs from abroad who ascend to Strawberry Hill for a one-of-a-kind party weekend with a spectacular backdrop of Kingston.
The Jamaica Observer Food Awards, the brainchild of larger-than-life fashionista, food critic, and Jamaica Observer lifestyle editor, Novia McDonald-Whyte, was established in 1998 to celebrate excellence in culinary presentation. It affords patrons an opportunity to taste what's new and different in Jamaica's food industry, with over 60 booths showcasing the country's scrumptious offerings, from the tried-and-true jerk sauces, rum, and Blue Mountain Coffee, to more exotic offerings. Top winners are awarded two full scholarships each year to the Hospitality Department at the University of Technology with 20-odd awards presented to establishments that have excelled. Dubbed "The Caribbean's Oscar Night of Food", the event is held on the east lawns of Devon House in late May each year. Contact Novia (tel. 876/511-2479) for further details and tickets, which usually run about US$100.
Kingston Restaurant Week, staged the second or third week in November by The Jamaica Gleaner in association with Stephanie Scott's SSCO Event Management (tel. 876/978-6245 or cell tel. 876/564-1700) is one of the best times to be in Kingston for those who love to sample restaurants. Prices are slashed by up to 50 percent, and participating venues offer patrons new creations in an attempt to develop loyal customers who will return throughout the year. The weeklong program has extended to other towns across Jamaica over the years, with participating restaurants now spanning the island, especially in Ocho Rios and Montego.
