JCDC weighs options amid COVID-19 pause – 230 entries received for Festival Song Competition | Entertainment

By the thirty day period of Could in any specified yr, the several and different functions and competitions staged by the Jamaica Cultural Advancement Commission (JCDC) islandwide would have been in significant gear. Each and every yr the JCDC rolls out its significantly-predicted menu board which features an fascinating array of carrying out, entertainment, literary, visual and culinary arts competitions, with several of them accepting entries from as early as September of the previous yr. Having said that, with COVID-19 impacting and disrupting each individual spot of lifetime, the JCDC, just like the hundreds of other entities which regulate functions, has pressed the pause button. A submit on their web page states, “All JCDC functions postponed right up until further more notice amid COVID-19. Proceed to hold harmless, as we all check out to help flatten the curve.”

In an interview with The Gleaner, Minister of Culture, Gender, Amusement and Sport Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange reinforced this actuality. “We are currently adhering to the rules issued by the Ministry of Wellness and Wellness. All of our activities attract huge groups of men and women but the social-distancing procedures mean that we can’t congregate hundreds of learners, teachers and judges with each other as we ordinarily do, so we have suspended all competitions right up until the overall health authorities say it is harmless to resume,” she claimed.

The competitions coated underneath the JCDC Amusement Arts Programme are the Overlook Jamaica Pageant Queen Competition Jamaica Children’s Gospel Song Competition Jamaica Gospel Song Competition Jamaica Pageant Song Competition Globe Reggae Dance Championship and The Large Phase. In advance of the wheels stopped turning, the entry deadline for the 2020 Pageant Song Competition had been prolonged from the stop of February to Friday, April seventeen, and the process, by all accounts, had been robust. Minister Grange advised The Gleaner that somewhere around 230 entries had been acquired.

Mixed Method

She noted: “This yr, for the very first time in its historical past, there was a blended technique to using entries. There ended up a few dwell auditions in diverse sections of the place and we ended up nevertheless using entries by means of the conventional strategies. Even following April seventeen we are nevertheless having phone calls and e-mail from individuals exhibiting fascination in the level of competition.”

The a few dwell auditions ended up held in Montego Bay, Mandeville and Kingston, and presented an alternate to individuals who did not submit a recorded monitor as their entry, as is ordinarily the technique.

Additionally, the anointed best ten finalists in the Gospel Song level of competition had been picked from the best 26 semi-finalists from across the island at a live performance held on Ash Wednesday, February 26, at the Louise Bennett Backyard garden Theatre in St Andrew. The preferred finalists are Deon McDonald of St Mary with God You Are Real Father Reece of St Catherine with Satan Gu Weh David Sutton of St Elizabeth with Our Response, and Sheri-Gaye Johnson of Clarendon with I Will Worship. Symbolizing Manchester are Nadine Torey with Ambushed, and the Euphoria team with Dwell Nowadays. The finalists from St James are Oliver Ashley with No Cut price, and Treisha Williams with One particular Dose of Holy Ghost. Kingston and St Andrew are being represented by Martanek Phipps with Ye Who’s Without Sin, and Offneil Lamont with Endlessly God.

Andrea McCurdy, functions coordinator, National Spiritual Providers & Jobs at the JCDC, stated at the time that, “The finalists will now start preparing for their journey to the finals which will consist of voice, tunes and industry-dependent developmental workshops, recording the finalists’ album and performances and outreach across the island.”

Having said that, whether all that will arrive to lifetime is an ongoing dialogue.

“We are thinking about a number of solutions for all our competitions, but specified the uncertainty developed by the coronavirus we can’t give a closing position at this time. Our future methods are dependent on the alerts from the overall health authorities,” Minister Grange advised The Gleaner.

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