PROMOTERS of the fouth staging of the Rainforest Seafood Festival are pleased with Ash Wednesday’s staging held at Catherine Hall Entertainment Centre in Montego Bay, St James.

Over 10,000 patrons flocked the venue for the family entertainment event, first held in 2013, which climaxed with a stage show.

The festival, which returned after a one-year hiatus, saw stellar performances.

Kevin Downswell set the stage for the evening with inspirational gospel music.

He was followed by veteran reggae singer Cocoa Tea, who revved up the tempo with his customary pulsating performance. He reeled off hits from his extensive catalogue, which included: I Lost My Sonia, Hurry Up and Come, Young Lover, Eighteen and Over, which was well received by the adults and children in the audience.

Crowd favourite Romain Virgo had the patrons eating out of his hands with servings of Who Feels it Knows it, Feel Like Letting Go, Dutty Heart, Cant Sleep, Do You Remember and many more.

Patrons went wild when he introduced Busy Signal to join him on stage. The dancehall deejay unleashed Love Jamaica and Comfort Zone, before making his exit.

After that, Virgo, who received the evening’s lone encore, was joined by Cocoa Tea, who declared that the young crooner has bright prospects in the reggae industry.

Bounty Killer brought the curtains down on the evening’s live entertainment.

Earlier in the evening, Jahmeil, Tifa and Shenseea represented admirably while Ding Dong and the Ravers Clavers were impressive.

Comedic duo of Ity and Fancy Cat kept the audience in stitches between band changes.

Meanwhile, Bethany Young of Rainforest, was pleased with the support.

“We are very pleased with the tremendous support of patrons, sponsors, artistes, and the Montego Bay community in general,” Bethany Young of Rainforest Seafoods told Jamaica Observer.

“The Rainforest team, and clearly the Montego Bay community, recognise that our regional hospital is in need and we found so many people wanting to give back : vendors, patrons, sponsors, and we think that collective sense of giving back and helping your community was very much alive at the festival and that remains very much important to what the event is,” an elated Young expressed.

“It is a coincidence that the hospital is going through a crisis but we are glad we are doing our part.”

The proceeds from the event are slated for the We Care Foundation. The foundation is a non-profit, philanthropic organisation dedicated to meeting the Cornwall Regional Hospital’s need for additional manpower, basic health care equipment, and infrastructural upgrades.