Scents & Sounds – Reggae & Dancehall Stars highlight 28th Jamaica Day Summerfest

BY: JELANI GRANT 

The seductive scent of jerk chicken on the fire could be smelled from Hwy 27, and just in case your sense of smell was off, you could feel the vibrations of Reggae and Dancehall, alerting the surrounding neighborhood that Summerfest had arrived. The sounds and smells of Jamaica drew guests to the southeast side of Woodbine Mall, where they could enjoy two days of Jamaican culture. Once the sun began to set, the festival was filled with people celebrating Jamaica by collecting stacks of food containers, competing in the dominoes competition or simply wearing a green, yellow, and black combination.

Lining the festival were incredible vendors offering good food, Jamaican apparel, cold drinks and a booth selling hair options. The festival made sure to accommodate those who may have been fighting the heat with ice cream trucks, cold beer and a vendor selling fresh sugar cane. Outside of the festival, locals were getting comfortable across the parking lot to enjoy the Reggae and Dancehall all-stars performing.

Kids were offered various rides all day. Kids were given a selection of inflatable rides, including a zip line and an obstacle course. The younger visitors could also try the electric animal rides, a pirate ship maze, and bumper bubble balls.

Host for the festival was G987’s Kerry Lee Crawford, who called out to guests to see who attended the first Jamaica Day more than twenty years ago. A number of people raised their hands and cheered, demonstrating the ongoing commitment to the festival. Caribbean Airlines provided one lucky guest with a trip to Jamaica and a good-quality luggage bag for their trip.

Consulate General Lloyd Wilks appeared on stage to praise the organizers of Jamaica Day Summerfest and Top Cat Entertainment, for bringing the festival to Toronto each year.

Comedian Jay Martin, co-host for the weekend, kept guests highly entertained between performers joking about children praying, typical barrel items, his international trips to Barrie, Ontario and his treasured bully beef. Apparently, the canned corned beef is so cherished to his heart, he wrote a piece about it. “Something happened in the island of Jamaica, we had a friend that passed away that we all grew up on, and I miss this friend. So, I decided to write a poem about this individual because this individual played a very intricate part in my life,” he said. The comedian then spent the next five minutes emotionally singing about the many ways corned beef saved his life when he was younger and well into his 30s. He even held up his keys that had a canned food key attached for emergencies and remarked that struggle can happen at unexpected times. Martin ended his serenade by explaining the reason Jamaicans are so blessed is that, “whenever there are hard times we come together.”

Each performer on stage for the weekend proved their all-star reputation before they began, with each announcement from the host spurring screams and applause from the crowd. Opening the Saturday performance stage was Empress Divine performing her new song “Momma” and another song calling out the random acts of violence in Toronto this year. Empress Divine  wasn’t the only artist who took the time to profess peace during a time when the city faced a significant number of homicides. Though other parts of Toronto were facing more gun-related fatalities, artists throughout both days used their music to ask for peace.

R&B and Reggae singer Chelsea Stewart performed a single from her upcoming EP, providing the festival with a different sound from the Dancehall and Reggae stars.

During another break in the performances, Martin kept the crowd laughing and responding to his foolishness, calling on the band to help him perform a hilarious tune dedicated to his cheating girlfriend. Despite that awkward look into Martin’s personal life, the all-star performances continued including Korexon, Len Hammond, Chuxstar, Iba Mahr and Elephant Man, leaving guests with no time to stay in their seats. Konshens and his band headlined the festival’s first night following the string of exciting artists.

Sunday saw talents such as dancehall sensation Tifa and Eyesus. Shaddai performed both days and included her newest single ‘Toy Friend’ to an interactive audience who sang along word for word. Tarrus Riley had everyone at attention, headlining for the final day of the festival. One song received an overwhelming response from the crowd because of its call out to the alarming amount of violence across Toronto. Before he started Riley said, “Me hear say Konshens pass through last night…I tell him we don’t want no more violence inna di place, we read the news, when it’s not a bomb a drop, we see likkle kids firing on kids in the mall, we nah like it none at all.”

There was no shortage of entertainment for all ages and food for everyone who has a taste for Caribbean cuisine. With well-known DJs like Steenie, Big C and Spex doing their thing whenever a musician was offstage, the festival offered a number of cultural hallmarks we all love, taking everyone into Jamaica without any need for flights.