Hundreds of fans converged on Miramar, Florida, for the 2024 Grace Jamaican Jerk Competition, held on Sunday, 10 November 2024, over the Veterans Vacation Weekend. Regardless of intermittent rain, attendees gathered on the metropolis’s expansive Regional Park to savour genuine island flavours, indulging in a wide range of delectable jerk dishes that tantalised style buds all through the day.
Introduced in affiliation with the Publix grocery store chain, this annual pageant in South Florida was a outstanding cultural celebration of Caribbean meals, music, and vibrant environment. The fragrant Publix Culinary Stage featured prime cooks competing in cooking competitions, alongside family-friendly actions and surprises for all ages.
A spotlight of the pageant was the Movie star ‘Fast Fireplace’ Problem, that includes a energetic showdown between Alexis Frazier of Native 10 Information and Kris Anderson of NBC6. These media personalities stepped out of their newsrooms and into the out of doors kitchen to create probably the most delicious jerk-inspired dish. Jamaican sprinter and Olympian Briana Williams was among the many judges evaluating their creations. After the competitors, Alexis Frazier was awarded the Todd Tongen Celebrity Quick-Fire trophy. Her pleasure was evident as she proudly displayed the trophy to the viewers.
Because the day progressed, attendees loved mouth-watering jerk dishes and a wide range of Caribbean cuisines earlier than gathering on the leisure stage for a show-stopping efficiency by the legendary ‘Vitality God’, Elephant Man. He delivered hits like ‘Pon Di River’, ‘Sign Di Airplane’, ‘Elephant Message’, and ‘Nuh Linga’. Different notable performances included Nigy Boy (also referred to as Continent Boss), Shuga, the Fantells, Chalice, and the Jenny Jenny Dancin’ Dynamites. Prime DJs reminiscent of DJ Radcliffe, Richie D, Extatic Sound, and DJ Worm stored the crowds energised throughout intermissions and band modifications. Emcee duties had been adeptly dealt with by Jody Ann Grey and comic Chris Johnny Daley.
The pageant was attended by a number of celebrities and officers, together with Oliver Mair (Consul Basic of Jamaica to the Southern USA), Wayne Messam (Miramar Mayor), Yvette Colbourne (Miramar Vice Mayor), Hazelle Rogers (Broward County Commissioner), Pleasure Smith (Commissioner of the Metropolis of West Park), Pat Montague (award-winning radio host and CEO of Pat Montague Advertising & Promotions), Clinton Lindsay (broadcast journalist, radio station supervisor, live performance promoter), Tanto Irie (DJ host of Reggae Runnings on Sizzling 105 FM in South Florida), DJ Mikey Mike of WZOP/WZPP FM radio in South Florida, Singing Melody (Jamaican reggae singer and member of L.U.S.T.), Safaree Samuels (Jamaican-American rapper, actor, and actuality TV star), Zeke Don (Jamaican dancehall artist), Whitey Orderz (supervisor for Safaree and Zeke Don), Ninja Child (Jamaican veteran dancehall artist), Jazzy T (of Renaissance Disco), Steve James (of Reggaeville), David Muir (photographer and co-founder of Island Area Caribbean Museum), Howie Chin (VP Data), Foota Hype (Jamaican dancehall persona and sound system selector), and Eddy Edwards (CEO of Jamaican Jerk Competition USA, Inc.).
The 2024 Grace Jamaican Jerk Competition was a convincing success, providing attendees an unforgettable expertise of Caribbean tradition, delicacies, and leisure.
