The Liguanea Arts Festival 2011

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

The Liguanea Arts Festival at the Liguanea Plaza St. Andrew

On Sunday April 17 the Liguanea Plaza came alive with the artistic expressions of several talented Jamaicans! It was the Liguanea Arts Festival a showcase that features some of Jamaica's most talented in the field of the visual and even the performing arts! Photographers, painters and sculptures turned out in their numbers to showcase their wonderful works of arts to an eager public in hopes of catching their interest as well as get sales from their pieces.

The large turnout at the Liguanea Arts Festival

I arrived at the Liguanea Plaza at about 3:00pm, however, on my was a bit disturbed as the rain started to fall while I was en route to Liguanea. I began to wonder it this rain would have washed out the festival and that I may have been a bit too late to see the pieces on exhibit or get to capture any shots of the crowd. Nevertheless I still made my way up to Liguanea and was pleasantly surprised that the rain eased up when I arrived. It seems the rain only cooled down the temperature as it certainly didn't deter people from turning out the the Liguanea Art Festival. A lovely turn out was there and so were the number of booths! There were different alleys that featured different aspects of the visual arts: photography, paintings, sculptures, etc, yes a belly full of artistic expression in every alley.

Photographer Howard Moo Young (centre)

Some of the art work on display

An artist and his work

There were several well known artists, photographers and sculptors with some awesome pieces on display and for sale at the festival. However the visual arts was not the only highlight of the festival as the Akivaaba Drummers entertained the crowds with magnificent drumming accompanied by the traditional dances of local folk dancers. no event can be a success without the sponsors and the Liguanea Art Festival had its fair share of sponsors including corporate companies such as JNBS. There were also other sponsors of that were present that did more than just display their products but also offered samples, such as Appleton Estate who kept patrons in "high spirits" withe their samples.

Akivaaba Drummers

Dancers performing to the music of the Akivaaba Drummers

Michael Collins of JNBS one of the sponsors of the event

The Appleton Estate booth with mixed drink samples

This was certainly a testimony of the caliber of talent that exist in this small country called Jamaica! My visit to the Liguanea Art Festival, especially the pieces of top photographers such as Franz Marcouza & Howard Moo young, has certainly encouraged me to continue to pursue my passion for Photography. Hopefully I will not just attend the Liguanea Art Festival next year but I hope to have some of my work there on display and also for sale! To see more of my photos of the Liguanea Arts Festival click here.

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Jamaica Pegasus Goes Tweetheart

Monday, February 14, 2011

Top Of The World, the Jamaica Pegasus third tweetup venue

On June 18 2010 the Jamaica Pegasus (@JamaicaPegasus), located in the heart of New Kingston Jamaica, did something no other company had ever done before when they held the first ever tweetup on Jamaican soil. Even though it was a new event and a new phenomenon in Jamaica it was a success. Following up on the success and buzz created by the first ever tweetup they did it again with a second tweeteup, held on September 3, 2010. Some say a sequel is never as good as the original but the Jamaica Pegasus certainly proved that wrong with a bigger and better tweetup with even more sponsors and a larger crown of enthusiastic guests. Earlier this year the Jamaica Pegasus announced that they would do it, yet again, yes another tweetup! But could they manage to have the success and demand of the the previous tweetup?

Guests at the tweetup L-R: @RyanMattis, Jo Mini Will, Geoffrey A. Bailey, Nikiel Nezzy, @Jamaipanese 

On January 23, 2010 the Jamaica Pegasus opened registration to their loyal twitter followers for the third tweetup, themed the Tweetheart Edition, scheduled for February 11, 2010. This announcement created a buzz of anticipation both for those who have only heard of the previous tweetups and those who experienced it and hungered for more! This hunger was so great that all slots were sold out with 14 minutes of the announcement. The demand was so great that the Jamaica Pegasus had to make room for over 70 more guests! That registration process even superseded the first as all 70 slots were sold out in just 2 minutes! So the Jamaica Pegasus certainly had the interest of it's twitter fans, but could it live up to their expectations?

Decadent chocolate fountain

The Jamaica Pegasus team took its team took its guests to The Top Of The World, their rooftop venue overlooking the city of Kingston & St. Andrew. The all white decour was on point, complemented by the open air feel of the rooftop structure, decorative lights, laser displays and the city lights that extended into the distance. A decadent chocolate fountain greeted guests by the door, smooth, warm creamy chocolate that would evoke the desires of any chocolate lover. An open bar also greeted guests, the perfect recipe to get people relaxed and in a more sociable mood [big grin].

Dancehall artiste Tifa

Alric & Boyd controlled the turn tables and kept the party rocking with their usual great juggling and even got a quite few dancing up a storm at the latter part of the tweetup. The Jamaica Pegasus also treated its tweetup guests with a performance from one of the hottest female Dancehall artist on the local charts Tifa. As usual the food was great, especially the pork and the shrimp pasta, and it was there in abundance allowing for seconds and even thirds!

A variety of tasty meals enticed the palates of guests

Alric of the due Alric & Boyd

The lovely Paula-Ann Porter Jones

Radio personality Paula-Ann Porter Jones was the MC for the evening. Even though she did a good job, I must admit I missed the craziness of the vivacious Elva. The sponsors came on board once again with prizes and giveaways including: a ticket for two from Air Jamaica to one of the their many destinations and 2 Blackberry Perl 3G smartphones from LIME. Other sponsors included Kingston Minicakes, Nuvo, NCB and Freestyle & Xklusive.

Winners of the LIME giveaway poses with LIME executives

A guest collecting her prize, a gift basket from NCB

A big part of the tweetup is the opportunity to put faces behind the tweeps you follow, meet other tweeters that you are not yet following, reunite with other tweeters that you have met and of course networking. I got to do all of that plus managed to take quite a few photos of the event! It was great seeing the familiar faces again as well as meeting tweeters that I follow, tweeters that follow me and a host of new tweeps. Of course as a photographer I could not go without carrying my partner in crime, my trusted camera! You can view the rest of the photos I took of the third Jamaica Pegasus tweetup on my here on my facebook page.

Me mingling with fellow tweeters @VisualEmbrace and CamJayFen

Guests dancing up a storm to the music of Alric & Boyd

Once again the Jamaica Pegasus proved that it could pull off a successful tweetup, showed that it can organize a great event, showed off yet another awesome venue the hotel has to offer, teased the palates with their culinary creations, and treated its twitter followers to a lovely night of fun and socializing.

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Restaurant Week at Gimbilyn

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Complementary Drink: Orange Sunrise

As decided by my wonderful voters it was decided that I would be going to Gimbilyn at the the Alhambra Inn  for Restaurant Week. After closing the polls on Wednesday I decided to call Gimbilyn restaurant to make reservations for dinner at Gimbilyn Restaurant. However, it seems that not only you my voters thought Gimbilyn was a good choice, as I was told that they were booked out for the entire weekend! How could this be? This meant that I will not get to sample the menu Gimbilyn had to offer? Nor would I get to go the the restaurant that my voters chose for Restaurant week?

Appetizer: Fresh Garden Greens

I must admit I was disappointed when I was told that they were totally booked so dinner for Thursday evening was definitely out of the picture and possibly for the rest of Restaurant Week. However, I was not in the mood to give up! So I called back and asked if anything at could be worked out for me to dine there for Restaurant Week, but once again I was denied, but this time with a glimmer of hope. The receptionist told me I could call back on Friday to check it there was any available slots. Friday morning I did just that wan with great results as they had two slots, one at 7:00pm and another at 9:00pm! Of course you know I opted for the 7:00 reservation time and it was all set!

Main Course: Pork Passion

The ambiance at Gimbilyn is certainly conducive to dining with it's dimmed lights and open air feel, with both dining inside or outside on a terrace. added to the cozy, enchanting feel was the music in the background, some 80's souls music. The staff at the restaurant was also very pleasant and courteous, especially the waiter that served our table. So, ambiance great, staff great, now what about the food?

Dessert: Tropical Pina Colada Cheesecake

After glancing through the restaurant's menu I had made my selection: for appetizer it would be the fresh garden greens, for entrée I definitely had the Pork Passion and finished off with the Tropical Pina Colada Cheesecake. All this was accompanied by the sponsored drink mix, called Orange Sunrise, which included Appleton V/X. The garden greens was a crispy mixed leafy salad greens topped with slivers of Parmesan cheese and served with a June Plum Vinaigrette. I didn't think the salad was extra ordinary but it was satisfactory nonetheless. My main course the Pork Passion was Grilled Smoked Pork Chops accentuated with a sorrel sauce and served with sweet potato croquettes and seasonal vegetables. This was good, and that's just not because I love pork! The meat was tender, well cooked and the sauce sorrel sauce gave it a sweet flavour. The only thing that would have made it better was if it was a little more deeply seasoned and spicy. Nevertheless, the light flavour was still good and I would definitely have another slap of the pork! The Tropical Pina Colada which boasted a combination of coconut rum, chunky pineapple sauce and toasted shredded coconut din't live up to my expectation but was just OK.

After dinner complimentary Martini

The Restaurant Week menu was not the end of the treats that Gimbilyn as our waiter presented us with coupons to get 20% off Country Style juices, a Virgin Atlantic competition entry form and stamped our receipt for a free mix at the Alhambra Inn's bar. Overall, my Restaurant Week experience at Gimbilyn was a good one and I would definitely dine there again.

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Gimbilyn It Is For Restaurant Week 2010!

Thursday, November 18, 2010

The poll result are in and we have an undisputed winner for the restaurant I should go to for Restaurant Week! [Dramatic drum roll!!!] An the winner is... Gimbilyn Restaurant!!! here are the results of the poll, which was officially closed at 11:59pm yesterday.

KRW 2010 Which restaurant should I dine at for KRW Gimbilyn Restaurant 43.5% 10 Grogge Shoppe Restaurant 30.4% 7 East Japanese 21.7% 5 Hotel Four Season 4.3% 1 total votes: 23 powered by blogpoll

So it' soff to Gimbilyn Restaurant to sample their Restaurant Week menu, cuisine, service and ambiance! Thanks for your participation and your votes, I really appreciate it. Look out for my review of my Restaurant Week experience at Gimbilyn Restaurant in my next post!

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Wine, Spirits and Food Galore!

Monday, November 15, 2010

Tasty dessert from the Jamaica Pegasus booth

On Sunday November 14, 2010 the Jamaica Pegasus launched its two day event that features a culmination of wines, various spirits and food samples dubbed as the Jamaica Pegasus Wine, Spirits and Food Festival. I was invited to partake in this wonderful event that had a mixture of two of my favorite things, food and alcohol by the Director of Marketing of the Jamaica Pegasus, Prudence Simpson. I was thrilled when the invitation was extended to me to wet my palate with all the offerings! So with belly in one hand and my trusted camera in the next I was off to the Jamaica Pegasus! So what did this festival had to offer?

The Appleton Estate booth

I arrived at the Jamaica Pegasus at 4:30 pm and was greeted in the lobby by the wonderful Prudence Simpson who ushered me to the Jamaica Pegasus Grand Jamaica Suite, which was already a buzz with activity. There were several colourful and alluring booths neatly arranged in the large suite beckoning to the eyes. The booths raged from several wine & spirits companies to an array of food distributors and manufacturers, as well as the Jamaica Pegasus' own booth.

Santa Carolina Wines

I started off with the Jamaica Pegasus booth which offered a selection of pastries including my favorite, Black Forrest cake! After indulging in the pastry, I was off to moisten my palate with some wine. My alcohol consumption started off with Trivento Argentina which had a great assortment of wines, that I thoroughly enjoyed! I then made my way to the Tastee booth, then to the Worthy Park Estate booth where a lovely young lady made me a mix that included Rum Bar rum.

CB chicken ham

Next it was to the Mandingo booth, where I was a bit disappointed that Maliah Michel wasn't there, but the ladies there were enough to keep me occupied and to cheer me up with a mix! Next it was more wine at the Santa Carolina booth, food at Geddes Grant, more food at the Hunts booth, met a friend at the Nirvana booth, ate more food at the CB booth! But it didn't end there, oh no! I had Sex In The Sun at the Wray & Nephew booth, had another rum mix at the Appleton Estate booth, more food at the Celestial booth. I then topped it off with some Jablum Coffee with White Rum from the Jablum Booth and some soy ice cream from Country Farmhouse!

Nexus in performance.

But the festival wasn't only about food and alcohol, it also had live entertainment and giveaways! The performing arts group named Nexus gave an awesome and very entertaining performance which ad the crowns attention throughout their entire performance! I had never heard of Nexus before, but they certainly made a good impression at the Jamaica Pegasus Wine, Spirits and Food Festival! The Jamaica Pegasus also pleased it's audience with several giveaways including a weekend for two at their hotel. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, the wine, the rum mixes, the food, meet and greeting and of course taking lots of photographs! The festival end Monday November 15, so if you haven't gone yet you should check it out! Definitely something you should mark on your calendar next year too!

For more photographs of the festival visit my facebook fan page album Jamaica Pegasus Wine, Spirits and Food Festival. Remember to "Like" my page!

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