Ocho Rios Seafood Festival - Food, fun for the family

Carl Gilchrist, Gleaner Writer

Despite heavy early afternoon showers, the fourth annual Ocho Rios Seafood Festival, held recently at the Turtle River Park, turned out to be a wonderful event with the promoters, sponsors and patrons expressing satisfaction in the end.

The seafood was delicious. The lobster, fish, shrimp, conch, scallop, squid, salt fish, mackerel and sea cat were expertly done, whether jerked, fried, roasted or however it was prepared, made a mouth-watering treat.

Roasted breadfruit, bammy, and rice and peas were the main accompaniments.

The thousands of patrons who turned out, later enjoyed a stage show featuring several top reggae and dancehall entertainers.

Children also had a ball, enjoying face painting, a wide range of rides and other attractions.

Platinum sponsors, Digicel, having been linked to the Port Royal Seafood Festival, took on the challenge of the Ocho Rios event this year and according to marketing communications manager, Tshani Jaja, Digicel should be back again next year.

Successful event

"It's the first time we're doing this in Ocho Rios and it is something that we are excited about and I'm sure the patrons are even more excited. Next year for this festival is a potential and we're really looking forward to it. We just want to see how patrons enjoy themselves at this event," Jaja told The Gleaner.

Meanwhile, marketing manager for the festival, Camille Miller, said the event went very well.

"It was excellent, the crowd turned out, it was incident-free, there were attractions throughout the day. Everybody was happy - the patrons, the sponsors. Overall it was a successful event," Miller said.