For the second consecutive year, the annual Grace Jamaican Jerk Festival-New York made a big splash at Roy Wilkins Park in Queens. Tarrus Riley was one of the featured guests.
The spectacular affair drew over 10,000 satisfied patrons who used the opportunity to sample a number of mouthwatering jerk dishes including Jerk rice, jerk burgers, jerk tofu, jerk lobster, jerk corn, steam fish and festival that were prepared by vendors.
Event organizers did an excellent job transforming the Roy Wilkins park grounds into an oasis of jerk stalls and craft booths. The cultural stage featured performances by I & I DrumLink, Braata Folk Singers, Batingua Arts dancers and drummers, Adina and her crew doing Dancehall Aerobics and many others, all of which was well-received by the audience; while kids had their own Kidz Zone with rides, face-painting, a magician and puppet show.
Eyeballs were glued to demonstrations by Miami-based Chef Irie Spice and Grace Food’s Top Chef, Mazie Miller who showcased Grace products in creating several mouth-watering jerk recipes. “This food was utterly sensational”, one happy patron exhaled. “What a wonderful way to enjoy the summer”, added another, between bites of the jerked chicken pasta.
Whitey’s Caribbean Restaurant was judged the best Jerk Chicken in the cooking competition and was awarded $500 and the Gold Dutch Pot Trophy. Kevin’s Caribbean Kitchen came second and received $250 and the Silver Dutch Pot Trophy for their tasty Jerk Chicken.
[. . .] The main stage opened with a special gospel segment featuring Dunamis, Yankee B and Prodigal Son. Ity & Fancy Cat, delivered their special brand of Jamaican humor while Fab 5 Band proved that they are indeed one of the top show bands out of Jamaica, dishing out another memorable performance. They took fans down memory lane with familiar hits like Shaving Cream, Jamaican Woman, Wild Gilbert and a medley of festival songs.
Reggae singer Tarrus Riley who brought the curtain down was on point as he reeled of favorites like She’s Royal, Good Girl Gone Bad and Superman. The talented crooner sang his heart out for more than 60 minutes, delivering other classic hits like “Ease Off and Never Leave I” along with Saxman, Dean Fraser. Midway his set he invited platinum selling DJ Shaggy on stage for a cameo during which time they performed Shaggy’s hits Bombastic and Angel. [. . .]
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