Music, fashion and ital food fest
As part of the recent Bob Marley Week celebrations, the Hilton Kingston Hotel hosted the Bob Marley Night Karaoke Competition, Fashion Show & Ital Food Festival at the hotel’s poolside recently.
The hotel’s public relations staff went all out to provide top-class entertainment which was well appreciated by the capacity crowd, who paid a small entrance fee for entertainment that included the likes of reggae’s rising star Abijah, L’Acadco dancers and drummers and Aisha Blender all backed by the Zinc Fence Band.
Over a dozen contestants came out to participate in the Bob Marley Karaoke Competition, adjudicated by representatives from the business and entertainment fraternities. They included Bob’s widow Rita, actresses Audrey Reid and Dorothy Cunningham, CVM’s Chantal Hylton-Tonnes, as well as the Hilton’s director of public relations, Jackie Knight-Campbell.
The contestants were judged on stage presentation, overall projection and usage of stage, appropriateness of costume and vocal clarity. The audience had lots of fun singing along to a host of Marley classics, but at the end of the evening, a duo from Old Harbour, Robert Morrison and Mark Hemmings, calling themselves Natural Vibes, walked away with the top prize including a recording contract at Tuff Gong Recording Studio.
However, what captured the imagination of those present was the Cedella Marley-designed Catch-A-Fire fashion collection. The pieces were modelled by guest models Regina Beavers, Miss Jamaica World 2001, and St Bess Model Celia, as well as the Hilton’s staff members.
The pieces ranged from trendy to sexy-chic but were practical and quite wearable. The mostly denim collection also featured knits and florals in decidedly retro designs which have fast become a hit on the international market.
The Catch-A-Fire collection also features several aptly named sub-lines, including Trench Town Rock, Kinky Reggae, Concrete Jungle and Rude Gal among others.
