Reggae Month, the annual celebration of all things reggae, kicks off today with a church service starting at 10:00 am.

The service will be held at the Go for God Family Church at Shortwood Teachers’ College in St Andrew. The latest Disaster Risk Management (Enforcement Measures) Order prescribes a capacity limit for churches; therefore only a limited number can be facilitated physically at the service with the majority having the option to join virtually via various online platforms on which the services will be streamed.

Key government officials and reggae industry stakeholders are slated to be in attendance. The chief congregants will include the Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia “Babsy” Grange and the tourism minister, Edmund Bartlett.

The service will feature performances by Alicia Taylor, John Mark Wiggon, and the Go for God Music Ministry. Reggae Month 2022, which will be an official Jamaica 60 activity, will include a range of events in Jamaica and its Diaspora.

Now in its 15th year, February was officially declared as Reggae Month in 2008. This annual observance highlights and celebrates the impact of the musical genre on Jamaica’s social, cultural and economic development. A number of activities are generally staged in observance. These include public lectures, panel discussions, screening of reggae-related documentaries, and performance. The popular honour awards organised by the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association (JaRIA) generally caps off the month of activities.