One Love, Jamaica ... Japan style

The sixth One Love Jamaica Festival was held recently at Yoyogi Park, Tokyo, Japan.

It was staged by the One Love Jamaica Festival organising committee, chaired by Ryuichi Tsuruno, former managing director of Island International Travel Agency. The event is supported by the Jamaican embassy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB), the Association of Japanese Importers of Jamaican Coffee and the Association of Jamaicans in Japan.

The festival featured stage performances by Jamaican and Japanese reggae artistes, the exhibition and sale of Jamaican art and craft, clothing and novelty items. Patrons were given the opportunity to sample Jamaican cuisine from the many food booths including jerked chicken, ackee and salt fish, festival and patties. Jamaica's Red Stripe beer was also available.

Annually, the festival features a Bob Marley song contest and winners are provided with attractive prizes. This year, the first-place prize was a trip to Jamaica.

One of the highlights of the increasingly popular festival was for patrons to experience and learn different aspects of Jamaican culture through activities coordinated by the Jamaican embassy at the 'Jamaica Village' (the embassy's Cultural Communications Space). Activities included learning about the history of Jamaica's music, drumming, dance classes, domino lessons and hair braiding. Patrons were also taught to speak Jamaican Patois. The JTB, Japan, also collaborated with the embassy to promote Jamaica as a destination for Japanese tourists.

The two-day, family-oriented festival provided a fun-filled package of activities and a great opportunity to meet Jamaicans living in Japan. A special attraction was the Art Village along with the One Love Kitchen and Market with great Jamaican food, both ethnic and organic, drinks, Jamaican CDs and a variety of other Jamaican products.