The Grand Gala held this year in honour of our 51st year as an independent nation was a spectacular event. It featured many aspects of our cultural heritage, took us into the past, celebrated the present, and showed us hope for the future.
In my opinion, the organisers' efforts were commendable. It was a great idea to have some of the previous winning festival songs performed and it was especially enlightening for me as a young person who didn't know that many of these were indeed festival songs.
Another high point of the gala was to have Tiger as a performer. Most of the patrons were genuinely enthused to see him, given that he's been out of the spotlight for so many years. He was able to deliver well and received positive feedback from the audience. As usual, the dancers also played their parts well in dazzling us with iridescent costumes and with admirable vibrancy all throughout.
We were entertained by the likes of artistes such as Queen Ifrica, Ken Boothe, Derrick Morgan, and other reggae icons. The absence of the customary fireworks at the end of the gala did not sit well with many patrons but that was easily alleviated by a closing performance from Damian "Junior Gong" Marley. Of course, he was the zenith of the show, delivering an astounding performance that even featured a special guest, Sizzla.
In every venture, especially ones of such magnitude, there are shortcomings. Surprisingly though, the only fault I found with this production was that the organisation was not 100 per cent up to par. The show did not flow as well as it did in previous years and there were too many periods when nothing at all was happening. Despite this, the entire show definitely caused me to be a very proud Jamaican and I'm sure many others share the same sentiment.
All in all, I would say that the purpose of the Grand Gala was definitely fulfilled. As Marcus Garvey once said, "A man without knowledge of his past is like a tree without root," and with a celebration like this year's Gala, there is no way that one would leave without knowledge of our past and a sense of pride.
Tasha Smith
purple_rain4u2@yahoo.com
Grand Gala was good
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In my opinion, the organisers' efforts were commendable. It was a great idea to have some of the previous winning festival songs performed and it was especially enlightening for me as a young person who didn't know that many of these were indeed festival songs.
Another high point of the gala was to have Tiger as a performer. Most of the patrons were genuinely enthused to see him, given that he's been out of the spotlight for so many years. He was able to deliver well and received positive feedback from the audience. As usual, the dancers also played their parts well in dazzling us with iridescent costumes and with admirable vibrancy all throughout.
We were entertained by the likes of artistes such as Queen Ifrica, Ken Boothe, Derrick Morgan, and other reggae icons. The absence of the customary fireworks at the end of the gala did not sit well with many patrons but that was easily alleviated by a closing performance from Damian "Junior Gong" Marley. Of course, he was the zenith of the show, delivering an astounding performance that even featured a special guest, Sizzla.
In every venture, especially ones of such magnitude, there are shortcomings. Surprisingly though, the only fault I found with this production was that the organisation was not 100 per cent up to par. The show did not flow as well as it did in previous years and there were too many periods when nothing at all was happening. Despite this, the entire show definitely caused me to be a very proud Jamaican and I'm sure many others share the same sentiment.
All in all, I would say that the purpose of the Grand Gala was definitely fulfilled. As Marcus Garvey once said, "A man without knowledge of his past is like a tree without root," and with a celebration like this year's Gala, there is no way that one would leave without knowledge of our past and a sense of pride.
Tasha Smith
purple_rain4u2@yahoo.com
Grand Gala was good
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