The Southern Trelawny Environmental Agency (STEA), organizers of the annual Trelawny Yam Festival, has added a number of new features to the festival this year, with the aim of taking advantage of the staging of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007.
STEA’s Executive Director, Hugh Dixon, told JIS News that the Easter Monday (April 9) carnival, which is the highlight of the two-month festival, has been moved from Albert Town to the Hague showground in Falmouth.
The day, Mr. Dixon said, would be filled with several attractions, including a special Cockpit Country community showcase, where 10 communities will showcase their art, culture and folklore, as well as culinary skills in yam preparation.
“We will also this year be having what is called, ‘Flavours of Cricket’ where we’ll have professional chefs cooking up the cuisine of places such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, England, Zimbabwe, among other countries that will be playing cricket in the Caribbean during that period,” he informed.
In addition, the cultural showcase will be extended beyond the usual 7:00 p.m. closing time into the early hours of Tuesday (April 10). “It will be like an all day, all night festival and we expect to see an interesting array of display from our sponsors and commercial exhibitors,” Mr. Dixon said.
The annual Trelawny festival is designed to showcase the best of yam production in the parish, while providing the opportunity for visitors to the island, to experience the Jamaican cuisine and cultural traditions.
Activities get underway today (Feb. 28), with a schools’ competition on the grounds of the Westwood High School in Stewart Town, with some 13 institutions participating in poetry, song and dance, which reflect the theme: ‘The Slave Experience’.
On March 7, there will be a farmers’ field day in Thompson Town; a half marathon will be held on March 18 instead of the usual 10-kilometre race; a king and queen pageant will be held at the Starfish Trelawny Resort on March 25; and on April 1, a 50-kilometre cycle race will be held from the Shell Service Station in Falmouth to Albert Town Square.
The festival culminates on April 22, a beach volley ball tournament will be held at the popular Burwood Beach. “We’ll be having professional teams and amateur teams playing volley ball at that tournament,” Mr. Dixon said.
He appealed to Jamaicans and residents of the parish in particular, to come out and support the activities.
“We are also appealing to the hotels, especially those on the north coast, to contact us at telephone number: 610-0818, because we have packages that could include your guests, who are in the island and want something Jamaican to do during the period of the Cricket World Cup series,” he noted.
For further information on the Trelawny Yam Festival, persons can visit the SEPA’s website at www.stea.net.
