FIRECRACKERS lit up the skies above St William Grant Park in downtown Kingston with noisy, colourful and often frightening reactions from dozens in attendance highlighting the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation’s (KSAMC) annual christmas tree lighting, last Thursday.

Hundreds of relatively young children packed into the park, protected by their parents who were just as delighted with the colours and sounds from the civic ceremony that followed a concert featuring various cultural and gospel artistes, including a delightful performance from the girls’ choir of St Andrew High School, followed by the unforgettable movements of the highly fancied Tivoli Dance Troupe.

The section of the park used for the event more than fulfilled its purpose, with dozens of municipal policemen and women ensuring the site was safe as children became completely absorbed in the atmosphere, the same way an enthralling book would be hard to put down, even when it’s past bedtime.

Member of Parliament for Kingston Western and Minister of Local Government and Community Development Desmond McKenzie was particularly proud of the fact that the downtown audience was fully manageable, as they danced to original reggae music as well as shared in a fair level of entertaining, themselves.

“I want to appeal to the people of the municipality that this year I want you to pay special attention to the less fortunate among us, especially those who are living on the streets, and ensure that we play our part of making Christmas a better season for these less fortunate people,” he urged the cheering crowd.

He also appealed to the people of the municipality “to demonstrate a lot more love, kindness, and forgiveness; and let us try to minimise, as best as possible, acts of violence”.

Custos of Kingston Steadman Fuller brought greetings on behalf of the community, urging the people to continue to show respect to each other, share their love with children, and demonstrate respect toward their friends and neighbours in the process.

Mayor of Kingston Councillor Delroy Williams, at the same time, said he had noted the number of children who were at the park hours after being treated by the municipality, and was proud of their behaviour.

“I see children with their parents and I say, ‘This is the significance of this event, so that they can understand the importance of the role they are playing in making their country prosperous and in making their country progressive,” he stated.

But he said he wished for the children to understand the importance of a strong country because the importance of a strong country is what is significant.

“It is significant to me that our children understand what is important for our country, to be strong and understand the role that they have to play to ensure that we have a strong country, and then to understand the importance of the values and start sharing and offering themselves to serve with their brothers and sisters,” the mayor noted. “Then we can boast that we are a country to be reckoned with, not only in the Caribbean but beyond…and this is the vision we engrave for the city of Kingston and our country, Jamaica. This is the vision we ask you to embrace, and share in, and participate in, and pursue. This country, Jamaica, means a lot to us.

“I wish that we go into 2024 committed to the vision, committed to growing up our children for a purpose, and let those children fulfill the God-given purpose that they were born with,” he told the crowd.

Master of ceremonies was the KSAMC’s Chief Executive Officer Robert Hill. The event ended with a concert featuring several leading reggae/dancehall artistes.