Don’t worry! Eat happy! Caribbean Street Food Festival – The last hurrah of summer!

BY NOEL CUNNINGHAM

Photo Courtesy Ramanaa Srikandarajah – Shot Clock Photos

Caribbean food, games, music, contests, arts, and culture came alive and was on full display at the second staging of the JamaicanEats Magazine Don’t WorryEat Happy Caribbean Street Food Festival held at The Daniel’s Spectrum on August 31^st. It was a jam-packed event right throughout the day both indoors and outdoors once the gates opened at 11am all the way until 7 pm.

Through the clouds of smoke coming from the jerk pan, with families walking around soaking up the sun, dancing and taking pictures you could see several street food trucks line the street, along with food vendors from the different Caribbean islands serving their food and interacting with customers. Patrons could be seen steadily moving around trying the different island’s cuisine and libations such as lobster jerk mac and cheese, jerk chicken, doubles, curry, goat and buss up shut just to name a few of the scrumptious dishes that were on display, along with some tasty Caribbean vegan flair.

Photo Courtesy Ramanaa Srikandarajah – Shot Clock Photos

On the inside patrons were making their way around the different offerings from African-inspired apparels, costume jewelry, different Caribbean books and stories, video games, Caribbean food products that are locally made and readily available. The VIPs had a taste of my signature pumpkin pineapple cooler, authentic Jamaican mannish water (goat soup), callaloo phyllo pie and jerk chicken arancini. They were gifted with goodie bags packed with JamaicanEats magazine and merchandise. They were also treated to an evening session of rum and beer food pairing session.

The afternoon started off on high energy when MC and ringmaster Miss Tania Lou Hernandez took the mic and started walking around in her Jamaican national costume and sharing some of the island’s proverbs, riddles and stories with the patrons. There were games such as limericks and riddles where people had the opportunity to win special prizes. They went down memory lane with the hula hoop, hopscotch, and jacks.

The sounds of dominoes echoing and dice rolling from a game of ludo were heard coming from the patio while the DJ upstairs was blasting some Caribbean classics. “This event was first held in March of this year and the love and turnout was overwhelming. I said we’re doing this again with a bigger space,” said publisher of the JamaicanEats and Festival organizer Grace Cameron.  This event was created to celebrate the love and joy of the Caribbean heritage which is not only our music which is popular but the authentic food and the culture itself. The aim of this event is to free your spirit and satisfy your soul before winter comes. For more information on the Caribbean Street Food Festival, you can email caribbeanfoodguide@gmail.com or visit their website https://passporttocaribbeanfood.com for more upcoming events.