ORGANISERS of Marbana say it is more than just a party, but an economy booster. The annual party was held at Frenchman’s Cove in Portland on Sunday.

“We do it on Easter weekend, on Easter Sunday, and we’ve drawn a lot of crowd. A lot of people have come in from the eastern Caribbean. It is the kick-off of the carnival weekend, so people use it as the start to carnival week in Jamaica. We’ll continue to host it on this day and we want to support the people of Portland. A lot of the things that we have done inside here are done by the people of Portland; a lot of the decorations. We support the lifeguards at Frenchman’s Cove so it gives a lot of plus to the economy, so we really enjoy coming down here supporting Portland,”Andrew Price told the Jamaica Observer.

Price is a director of M7 Events. In addition to Marbana, the entity is known for staging annual Summer Playground Fantasy (SPF) party series.

The director said he was pleased with the crowd at Marbana’s sixth staging.

“The turnout is overwhelming. As usual, supporters of Marbana have come out in their numbers, dressed well; it’s like a fashion show. People come here to make people really know that they can dress well, and we’re really elated. People really come out here to enjoy themselves and despite the inclement weather very early today, it has turned out very well,” he said.

Despite the various Easter weekend parties on the north coast, some patrons said they preferred to stay loyal to the event.

“I’m from Ocho Rios but this is the place to be on Easter weekend. There is nowhere better than Marbana. This is the spot. It is a not miss event,” said Amanda Basdeo.

Terri Palmer shared the same sentiments as she rejoiced being able to attend this year’s staging after not being able to in the past due to illness.

Marbana directors believe that they lived up to their standards.

“We want to maintain our standards. We have a lot of activities that will make them ask for more and come back for more next year and we’re always try to lift the bar higher. We’ll have our special showcase of fire show that we normally have at dusk and as usual good music from the DJs…we have a lot of people that come in from overseas to see these DJs and enjoy listening to them play and their music,” Price said.

Patrons grooved to hits from different genres courtesy of selectors Jazzy T, Smoke, Rocksteady, Franco, Lurbz and Aswaad. Patrick “Hype Man” Anthony was as emcee.

A fire show comprising of fire-eaters and fireworks put the lid on a memorable occasion.