MORE than 300,000 Jamaicans in South Florida will be celebrating the nation’s 40th year of Independence at events planned by community associations in the tri-county area of Dade, Broward and Palm Beach.

The Independence activities started with a celebration of Jamaican culture on Saturday at the Broward County South Regional Library at 16835 Sheridan Street in Pembroke Pines.

Co-ordinated by the Jamaica Information Service, the event showcases performances of the island’s culture through song, dub poetry, dance, drama and storytelling by Jamaican talent. Book promotions and displays by several Jamaican authors resident in South Florida were also part of the activities.

Two Independence balls are also planned to mark the milestone. The Grand Independence Ball scheduled for the Renaissance Hotel, downtown Miami on Saturday, July 27 will be addressed by Maxine Henry-Wilson, former information minister and general secretary of the ruling People’s National Party. Bare Essentials Band, and seven-time Festival Song winner, Eric Donaldson, will provide entertainment. Needy Kids of Jamaica, a South Florida non-profit group, is organising this event.

Jamaica United Relief Association (JURA) and Members Only Social Club of Miami will host the Premiere Independence Ball to be held at the Signature Grand. The Fab Five Band will provide entertainment.

And the fourth annual ‘Big Duppy Concert’ returns to Miami with an added show in Tampa. Billed as ‘Culturama 2002’, this event is a showcase of various Jamaican traditional and folk art forms that include dance, song and drama.

This year’s show will begin with performances in Tampa at the Space Civic Centre, University of South Florida on Thursday, August 1. The other performances will be at the North Miami Beach Performing Arts Centre and the Coral Springs City Centre on Saturday, August 3 and Sunday, August 4, respectively. Students from Clonmel Primary and Junior High in St Mary, St Jude’s Primary School and St Peter Claver Primary in Kingston are among those slated to perform at the shows.

The highlight of the independence celebrations, this year, will, however, be an “Ol’ Time Street Dance” on Saturday, August 3 from 6:00 pm to 11:00pm. Revellers will enjoy a collection of music from the 1960s, including festival songs, rock steady, ska, reggae, dancehall and soca. This dance affair, reminiscent of the traditional street dances, will be hosted by the Karibbean Korner store and Island Spice restaurant located in the Pine Lake Shopping Centre in Kendal.

A number of churches will also be hosting independence services including the Christ the King Catholic Church, Missionaries of the Poor, and the Trinity Cathedral in downtown Miami.

Jamaica’s consul-general to Miami, John Atkins, will also host a special service at the Consulate on Sunday, August 10 at 4:00 pm.

In addition, the Christian Awareness Association will host its annual independence fellowship at St Helen’s Catholic Church, located at NW 33rd Avenue in Oakland Park on Sunday, August 10.