| Entertainment |
| By Charles H E Campbell Observer writer Sunday, July 10, 2005 |
Festival is in and on the air. For the first time in this PNP government's terms of office (1989 - 2005), I can honestly say that even I 'ketch di vibes'. I must congratulate the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) team, headed by Marcia Hextall and Delroy Gordon for doing a fantastic job.
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| Yellowman |
Ably assisted by Yasmine Salmon-Russell, they have brilliantly repackaged, re-imaged, marketed and are promoting the islandwide festival competitions and events to the point where for the first time, in what seems like eons, they are prominent in all the daily newspapers, on radio and TV.
This year, Jamaica Festival is again centre stage in our entertainment calendar and the results (predicted success) of JCDC's efforts should be larger audiences at the Independence celebration events which commence next weekend Saturday, July 16, with the Miss Jamaica Festival Queen Pageant.
I have long held the view that the JCDC events commemorating our Independence anniversaries have been grossly shortchanged due to insufficient private sector sponsorship and promotion.
While the Jamaican private sector gripes vocally about the influence of the dons and their interconnectedness to inner city communities, criminality, drugs and ultimately money-laundering activities through participation in the local entertainment industry, the root cause for this development has to be laid squarely at the feet of our captains of commerce and industry because of their disregard.
It is precisely their lack of critical support and adequate sponsorship of the performing arts, reggae/dancehall in particular, that created the vacuum in the music industry, filled by the proceeds of the drug trade primarily for laundering objectives for the last 22 years.
In this environment the events organised by the public sector have languished. It is not because- as is traditionally perceived- the bureaucrats and technocrats of the public sector are unimaginative, uncreative or lack the managerial skills.
Rather, it is because we have been operating in a new paradigm ever since the penetration of technological gadgets, the expansion and diversification of media, the maturing of the private entertainment sector - regardless of its origins - and the dawning of the age of mass culture globally. In this context, the JCDC cannot compete without significant sponsorship from the private sector.
For example, in today's market, unless you are prepared to spend between 25% - 40% of your production budget on an advertising and promotional campaign, your event is destined for failure.
This is one of the areas in which JCDC has not been able to compete, even though their productions are generally of superior quality to the average private sector-promoted event.
This has not always been so. For the consecutive years 1981 to 1986, the Ministry of Culture led by Edward Seaga and Olivia 'Babsy' Grange, aggressively sought and successfully garnered huge financial support from the private sector for Festival and Independence celebrations.
This enabled them to revive and stage many of the grand Independence spectacles which had been scaled down in the 1970s. The Grand Gala and Float/Costume Parade on Independence Day were lifted to a 'higher level' (pun intended).
If I may share an anecdote, some readers may remember that this new team in 1981, absolutely in sync with the popular culture emerging at the time, boldly established the popular DJ competition.
This was such a fillip to the career of the first winner of the contest, Yellowman, that he rode the wave of popularity to eventually become the first homegrown Jamaican Dancehall superstar.
In 1986, Yellowman, above all other acts of the night's billing, made attendance and Reggae Sunsplash's Dancehall Night, so large that the festival did not ever return to Jarrett Park after that year, because the park could no longer accommodate the size of the audience.
But back to the subject at hand. After 1986, Festival sponsorship began to taper off until it dwindled to a trickle. Unfortunately, since 1989, although the 'party of culture' has made valiant attempts in some years, these have essentially sputtered.
They have not been able to sustain these events consistently because of the lack of private sector sponsorship and critical mass support.
This year, however, we are witnessing a turn-around of fortunes for Festival 2005. It seems that finally, and genuinely, there might be a new beginning. In association with the JCDC, sections of the private sector are stepping up to the plate and putting money where their mouths are.
The following companies lead the way in regards to demonstrable commitment and cash support. They must be loudly congratulated for this initiative and urged to continue.
Among the current sponsors of Festival 2005 are Grace ($5 million), Lasco ($3 million), Capital and Credit Financial Group ($3 million) and Cable and Wireless B-Mobile ($3 million).
I noticed also that this year, for the first time, there is the significant innovative development of JCDC having a formal media partnership with the Jamaica Observer.
As a consequence, Festival 2005 gets its own special weekly section in the popular Do-Go-See weekly pull out entertainment guide.
But this is still just a splash - slightly more than a drop - in the bucket. Many more of our corporate entities need to get involved in the ensuing years, if we are serious about reversing the antisocial tide.
After all, among other sponsors, it is reputed that the title sponsor Red Stripe is endorsing Reggae Sumfest to the tune of JA$18.6 million.
This is not to take anything away from this deal, because Sumfest needs and deserves this level of private sector sponsorship as do other quality local events.
Where however, has the patriotism of our local private sector been hiding all these years? Was their initial surge of support in the 1980s merely political expediency?
The Festival movement is the only indigenous organisation we have which is continuously providing us with a dynamic overview of our cultural and artistic pool of talent.
In the process they are responsible for unearthing, developing, exposing and nationally rewarding the talents of our children (in schools) and young adults (in rural and urban communities), while promoting the retention of traditional cultural forms.
These are the Jamaicans that have chosen to express themselves artistically within the social system. We are already reaping the whirlwind of not giving them adequate financial endorsement, so we now very well know their alternatives. Manifest around us is the unbridled, unbecoming antisocial behaviour which results when their talents are not given succour by the establishment.
Let us not just applaud, but reward the efforts of JCDC and the investments of the sponsors in the only way that ultimately matters. I urge all Jamaicans - especially those residing in Kingston and St. Andrew - to attend the events and cheer on the participants who have excelled under the rigours of stiff islandwide competition.
They deserve our support and you will be as amazed at their training, creativity, resilience and highly developed artistic skills as you will be at the diversity and genius of Jamaica's cultural heritage and product. Come 'ketch di vibes'.. See you there.
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