Palmyra's party for a cause
Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Talk of Tropical Storm Tomas shelved plans by The Palmyra Foundation to have musical maestros Third World rock the Palmyra Beach Resort and Spa's white sands last Friday night.
But it was a night filled with ingredients that not many event planners are capable of bringing together.
Palmyra Foundation's Ragni Trotta and her team presented Dwight Richards and Friends, Los Angeles, California, recording artiste Cassidy and United Kingdom-based comedian Tony 'Paleface' Hendricks, on a platter to a host of western Jamaica's 'socialites for a cause', along with an intimate group of North Americans, hungry for great entertainment.
Like 1,000 volts of energy in an already well-lit room, Richards and Friends' ace female soprano, Maria Myrie, brought the house down with Nancy Wilson's How Glad I Am, Etta James' At Last and The Sharrells' This is Dedicated.
But the music, food and camaraderie were just a small slice of the enormous effect that the Palmyra Foundation is having on the lives of the island's children.
"This year, the foundation distributed 7,000 books to 2,000 pre-kindergarten and kindergarten children in St James and one school in Hanover. Every child received a book bag with a pack of crayons, a pencil, a colourful 300-page workbook and two to three reading books at a value of about US$30 (J$2,580) per pack," boasted an excited Ragni Trotta.
The book distribution was shown to guests by way of a film produced by volunteer Max Earle of Frame by Frame. "Earle is another of the amazing and indispensable persons involved in the foundation's efforts, so is our gold sponsor John Swaby," said Trotta, lauding the two men.
1876 Wines, Appleton Rum, Wisynco and Rainforest Seafood contributed to last Friday's fund-raising event.
Come February 11, 2011, the team returns to their original plans of a fund-raising weekend with Third World and others.