ONE of the biggest getaway periods in the United States, Memorial Day weekend, is a time for honouring the country’s war heroes.

On May 29 hundreds of Jamaicans showed up at Bayfront Park in downtown Miami to salute dancehall/reggae’s finest at ‘Best Of The Best’.

They braved torrential rain to see the hottest acts including Beres Hammond, Mr Vegas, Christopher Martin, Cham, Pressure, Yaksta, Lyrical, and soca star Patrice Roberts.

Ronnie Tomlinson, spokesperson for Best Of The Best, said the resilience of fans was the show’s biggest compliment.

“For persons to stand through the rain and watch the performances definitely says there is a level of trust and enjoyment when you attend a Best Of The Best event,” she told the Jamaica Observer. “People stood there looking forward to see every artiste promoted on the line-up — and they did. They also enjoyed every moment with the support of our hosts Jabba — also co-organiser — and Majah Hype, as well as our host of DJs.”

It was the second Best Of The Best in seven months. The previous show took place in October at the same venue after promoters cancelled in May due to COVID-19.

With an ease in COVID-19 restrictions, organisers returned to the show’s traditional Memorial Day slot. Tomlinson said the diverse cast paid dividends.

“So every year we have soca, young artistes and veteran artistes; but what we did this year was not overcrowd our line-up and try to give the artistes more time to perform. But all the elements came together at the end and we had a successful festival.”