OCHO RIOS, St Ann — Plans are in place to host a Pre Valentine Day concert called To Haiti with love: The Ochi Response, as business interests here join forces in an effort to raise funds to assist the earthquake ravaged Haiti.

The concert is to be held at the Turtle River Park in Ocho Rios on Saturday, February 14, and will feature a number of the island’s top musicians.

Shantel Bailey, the British based marketing head for Natchilus Promotions Limited, the company spearheading the project, told the Observer that she couldn’t think of a more fitting tribute to the Haitian people than the staging of a pre-Valentine Day concert.

“I was going to personally donate $500,000 to the local Red Cross but was influenced by my mother to do this concert,” Bailey said. “She is of the view that this way more persons would be involved and we could raise a lot more money for the cause.”

Bailey said she is pleased with the responses she has been getting and thanked the St Ann Development Company (SADCo), a subsidiary of the Urban Development Corporation (UDC), for being the first entity to jump on board.

“There is hardly a better location on the North Coast than the Turtle River Park,” she added. “When I approached SADCo, they didn’t hesitate to say yes and now all is set for what we hope will be a mega concert for the ages.”

Bailey noted that some of St Ann’s top musicians: Prezident Brown, Chukle Berry, Hero, Perfect, Everton Blender, PZ, Zamunda, as well as one of the island’s leading backing bands, Live Wyya, have all expressed an interest in the event.

She added that behind-the-scenes discussions have been going on to get the likes of Tarrus Riley, Beenie Man, Tanya Stephens, Etana, Lady Saw, Jimmy Riley, Charlie Blacks and G-Whiz.

Property manager for SADCo, Janice Chong, said her organisation was more than happy to partner in the venture, describing it as “a very worthy cause.”

“We will be asking the Red Cross and the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) to assist us as we go along,” Chong said.

“ODPEM, as I understand it, is in charge of disbursing funds for the relief effort so we will be working closely with them. Also, we would love for other business entities here in St Ann to come on board and support this concert.”

She explained that booths will be strategically placed throughout the venue where donations will be accepted during the night.

Other local Ocho Rios business entities that have already pledged their support include Bamboo Beach Club, Bi Bi Bips Bar and Grill, Gem Palace and Sign Plus. The event is to be launched next Friday at Turtle River Park.