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Halloween vs Ja culture... no contest - JCDC
Pat Roxborough-Wright
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Despite its growing popularity here, Halloween - the annual October 31 holiday rooted in Samhmain, the ancient Celtic festival which features strong links to the dead - cannot compete with the mystique of Jamaica's cultural offerings, according to Marjorie Vernon Leydon, acting field services director of the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC).
"Even though Halloween gets a lot of support from Corporate Jamaica I can safely say from the perspective of someone who is in the field, that it is no threat to what we do. I have seen no signs that the children prefer it to the mento, Jonkonoo or any of the other things that we are pushing at this time of the year," she told the Observer West.
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| Staff at the Coral Cliff vibe up for Halloween. (Photo: Phillip Lemonte) |
Popular shopping outlets like Fontana Pharmacy and MegaMart in Montego Bay are chock-full of scary masks, costumes, jack-o-lanterns and other Halloween paraphernalia. Several parties are scheduled to celebrate Halloween in western Jamaica this weekend.
They include "Crazy, Sexy, Cool", a set for the Coral Cliff lounge on Saturday and "Thriller", which is to be held at the Rose Hall Great House.
According to Junior Taylor, a principal of Taylor Made Entertainment which is putting on "Thriller", the party was so named to fit within the scary concept of late pop Icon, Michael Jackson's 1982 monster hit.
"We'll start at 10:00 pm and go on till the last ghoul leaves," said Taylor, a former member of the Boyz in the Bay entertainment outfit.
Halloween parties are also scheduled for the Twisted Kilt and the Groovy Grouper at Doctor's Cave Beach on Montego Bay's Hip Strip on Saturday.
The Rotary Club of Montego Bay is also presenting a 'Fright Night' on Saturday from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm at the Shoppes at Rose Hall with a range of "ghoulish activities" for children and adults. The entry fee is $500.
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