‘Dream’ ends ‘Mawnin After’
DREAM Weekend 2021 came to an end on Monday, August 9 with the staging of ‘Mawnin After’. The usual season-closing breakfast and brunch event was held at Long Bay Beach in Negril. Abiding by the dress code of yellow attire, patrons dabbled between beach sexy and casual chic outfits.
The fun kicked off at 6:00 am, however, the festivities got into full swing around 9:00 am as partygoers filed into the venue seeking out shaded areas and umbrellas to avoid the blistering morning sun. Breakfast by Mark Chong’s Custom Catering was the highlight of the VIP area, with guests making frequent returns to enjoy the delicacies throughout the morning.
Music from Kashmatic, Chromatic and Coppershot sounds elevated the experience. Kashmatic opened the early morning session with an exceptional soca set but it was dancehall, courtesy of Coppershot, that really had attendees all pumped up. Chromatic with Brush1 was the icing on the cake, finishing off an epic event.
“Limiting the number of venues in use at any time was a part of our strategy to ensure we staged an event that was safe for patrons and stakeholders alike. Doubling on the events not only created great value for the patrons, who could have enjoyed two incredible events without the added pressure of leaving to return to the venue, but it also allowed us to seamlessly cap Dream Weekend 2021,” explained Kamal Bankay, chairman of Dream Entertainment which is the organiser of Dream Weekend.
Using only three venues this year — Wavz Beach, Long Bay Beach Park and Kool Runnings Water Park — Dream Weekend sought to mitigate the risks of COVID-19 exposure. Patrons at all events had to present a COVID-19 verification band that was only available at the Redemption Centre after presenting a negative COVID-19 test result (not taken before August 4). Additional testing on the ground in Negril was supported by MDLink and Omega Medical, which operated mobile units near the Redemption Centre. There were also frequent visits from the parish health team, supported by ODPEM, at events all weekend long.
