REGGAEXCLUSIVE NEWS
150 AND BEYOND
REGGAE LIFE
JAMAICA MUSIC
FESTIVAL
By: Roots Dawta
L-R: Bobby, Mystery, Autarchii, Brian
L-R: Alex Marley, Warrior King, Ras
2017 has been a significant year
for Canada and the Diaspora com-
munity from the Caribbean, solidi-
fying 50 years of creating the gift
that keeps on giving to their coun-
try of choice. As Canada celebrat-
ed its 150th year of confederation,
the arts seem to take center stage
and the agencies that support
them were very much engaged.
This year communities around the
country saw greater support for
grass-roots presentations which
have allowed the Diaspora com-
munities including the Caribbean
ones to showcase their culture in a
manner that most have not seen
before. Rastafest was able to place
advertising in the Toronto Transit
bus shelters, there was a confer-
ence held at York University per-
taining to the Reggae industry in
Canada and venues like Roy
Thompson Hall, Nathan Phillips
Square and Reggae Lane just to
name a few, had presentations by
the keepers of the culture through
music. With all these events and
accomplishments it’s high time to
acknowledge that we are here, the
roots have been planted and it is
time to continue to feed and nur-
ture those roots, so that the
branches will flourish.
One indication of that for us is the
ability for a smaller record label
such as Indie Rootz Records under
the musical directorship of Bobby
Pottinger can produce three EPs,
all distinct in their sound and from
three artists that represent three
different countries, Canada, USA
and Jamaica, the birthplace of reg-
gae music. As we as a country and
an industry move into the winter
months here in the Northern
Hemisphere let’s take some time to
look at what we have accom-
plished and see how we can sus-
tain, uplift and move forward with a
collective consciousness for posi-
tive growth.
POPULAR TORONTO
SINGER JILL
DONALDSON IS
DEAD!
ReggaeXclusive
Condolences
goes out to the Family of Jill
Donaldson. RIP Jill.
St Thomas is known as Jamaica’s
ninth largest Parish boasting a size
of approximately 743 square kilo-
meters and with a population of
approximately 91,604 as of 2001.
St. Thomas is in the county of
Surrey with bordering parishes of
Portland and St Andrew. Some of
the major towns in St. Thomas are
Port Morant, Yallahs, Bath,
Seaforth and Golden Grove. The
Parish was named after Thomas
Hickman (Lord Windsor) Governor
of Jamaica in 1662. It was original-
ly called St. Thomas-in-the-east,
the modern day parish was
enlarged in 1867.The parish was
one of the earliest areas to be set-
tled in the island of Jamaica. St.
Thomas is mostly popular for the
Morant Bay Rebellion which took
place in 1865. The heritage inherit-
ed from our ancestors left us with
numerous heritage sites such as:
STONY GUT SITE OF PAUL
BOGLE CHAPEL
Stony Gut, a small village located
in the parish of St. Thomas, is the
birth place of Jamaica’s National
Hero, Paul Bogle. He was a dea-
con of the Baptist Church, located
in the same village. It was in this
village, which was to be later called
the Morant Bay Rebellion began.
Paul Bogle, his brother Moses
Bogle, and the people of Stony Gut
walked to Spanish Town to air their
grievances against the injustices
and oppression faced in the Parish
to Governor Edward Eyre.
MORANT BAY COURT HOUSE
The Morant Bay Courthouse,
which was destroyed by fire on
Monday, February 19, 2007, is an
important part of St. Thomas’s his-
tory. It was the scene of the Morant
Bay Rebellion of 1865. All that
remains of this historic site are the
brick walls of the structure.
ST. THOMAS PARISH CHURCH
The St. Thomas Parish Church in
Morant Bay is of brick construction.
It was built in 1865 when the origi-
nal Church situated at Church
Corner was abandoned because of
dilapidation. The east wall of the
Church has a brick with the date
1865 baked on it.
Reggae Life Jamaica Music
Festival would like to take the ini-
tiative to expand on the rich her-
itage of the parish by introducing a
festival to the parish by showcas-
ing some of St. Thomas most tal-
ented individuals, businesses and
attractions. On the 26th of
December, 2017 at the Good Year
Oval, St. Thomas Jamaica,
Prophecy Youth Foundation pres-
ents the 2nd edition of Reggae Life
Jamaica Music Festival, a fun-filled
entertainment event for everyone
to come and embark on our cultur-
al adventure.
reggaeXclusive -- Web Site: www.reggaexclusive.com --- Phone: 416-519-0831 -- Email: [email protected] Pg - 6