DESPITE a drop in attendance and persistent rain, Leo Cripps, a spokesperson for the annual Calgary Reggae Festival, described last week’s show as “an amazing event”.

The show was held August

14-16 and had Third World as headliners. Raging Fyah, LUST, Da’ville, Exco Levi, Chinese band Long Shen Dao and several Canadian acts on the bil,l which Cripps says was the festival’s most diverse to date.

“Raging Fyah was off the chart; people are already asking for them to come back,” Cripps told the Jamaica Observer. “The most surprising band was Long Shen Dao from Beijing, China. They spoke very little English but if you didn’t look on stage to see them, you’d think you were in Jamaica hearing a roots reggae/dancehall band.”

Reggae: Between Continents, a workshop looking at the influence reggae has on global cultures, and a screening of the film, The Story of Lovers Rock, were also part of the 2014 Calgary Reggae Festival.

The Portland-born Cripps is a co-founder of the Calgary Reggae Festival, which was first held in 2003. Beres Hammond, Freddie McGregor, and Maxi Priest are some of the artistes who have appeared on the show.