Delicious food, spicy performances at Grace Jerk Festival

New York: After being postponed in July by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, due to high temperatures, the city’s largest Caribbean food event, the Grace Jamaican Jerk Festival, unfolded at Roy Wilkins Park on Sunday. New York food and music lovers came out in their thousands to celebrate the ninth instalment of the event, which showcased a rich and varied musical entertainment component on two separate stages.

The small stage featured comedian Blakka Ellis and the Asase Yaa Youth Ensemble, who wowed with their presentation of Jamaican folk songs in a special tribute to iconic folklorist Louise Bennett-Coverley, popularly known as ‘Miss Lou.’ The main stage was smouldering hot with the ‘Fireman’ Capleton, who delivered one of his most entertaining NY performances to date. He hit the bullseye with vintage hits like Who Dem, Hunt You, That Day Will Come, Raggy Road, B#$%@ Red, Jah Jah City and Stand Tall, which earned rapturous applause from diehard fans. Anthony Malvo made a cameo appearance during Capleton’s set, and the two charmed fans with Not On My Level.

A large crowd

Singer Christopher Martin, was also in fine nick, exciting the near-capacity crowd which eventually swelled to over 15,000 patrons with a variety of old and new songs, including Mama, Big Deal, Cheaters Prayer, Bun Fi Bun, and a medley of cover songs – Hypocrites (Dennis Brown); Fire Pon A Weak Heart (Bushman); Tune In (Gregory Isaacs), Pass The Tu-Sheng-Peng (Frankie Paul); S he Love Me Now (Coco Tea) and If I Were A Carpenter (John Holt). The high point of his performance came when he invited singers D Major and Romain Virgo to join him on stage. The audience went wild when Martin and Virgo segued into Leave People Business. Romain’s short but spicy set climaxed with Soul Provider and Fade Away.

Dancehall’s female sensation, Shenseea, brought even more heat and excitement to the main stage, performing hit songs Body Good, Trending Gal, and her major label hit, Blessed, that was recorded with American rapper Tyga. For more than 30 minutes, the Romeich Entertainment artiste served up a scintillating performance laced with gyrations and flirtations, for her young ShenYeng. She upped the ante when she invited a fan on stage to “buss a move.” And, while her set was entertaining, some patrons thought aspects of it were too raunchy for a family-friendly, park event. Other performers on the main stage included soca stars Bunji and Faye Ann Lyons, and rising star Naomi Cowan, who captivated the audience with her musical range.

Over in the Culinary Pavilion, foodies were treated to an exciting assortment of mouthwatering jerked chicken, jerked pork, fish and lobster, served by some of New York’s top Caribbean restaurants and chefs. Popular cooking competitions and demonstrations, loaded with celebrities, kept attendees stuck in place at a large tent. One of the highlights was the Celebrity Chef Throwdown, where Chef Cybille St Aude, who prepared her dish ‘The New York Mishi,’ from the mystery basket of ingredients consisting of peanut brittle, prickly pear, hot dog, sopressata salami, Jamaican spice bun and Grace Jerk seasoning. She defeated last year’s winner, Chef Ji Cha, to walk away with the Dutch Pot Trophy. Chef Cybille is a Haitian-American chef and children’s book author who has appeared on season thirty-five of Food Network’s ‘Chopped.’

“We were pleased with the turnout,” said Eddy Edwards, managing partner, Jamaican Jerk Festival NY said. “The vendors and patrons were happy with the results we achieved.”