Royalton's Kathrina Wallace (left) and Kerry-Ann Quallo-Casserly flashed their pearly whites at our lens at the Red Stripe booth at the Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival.
Having a girls' night out on Saturday night at the Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival are (from left) Latoya Peddie, Deborah Smikle, Carol Archer, and Kaysia Johnson-Vaughn.
Jamaica Jazz & Blue Festival's Junior Taylor and RIU's Angella Bennett at the RIU booth.
Dr Christopher Tufton (centre) and his wife, Naedene (left), share lens time with Dr Marcia Forbes at the Flow booth on Saturday night.
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Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
The Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival remained a fantastic option for corporate networking and this was evidenced by the 'Full to capacity' signs posted at the Flow, Red Stripe, RIU, and the Jamaica Tourist Board booths hourly.
Flow came prepared with blankets on Thursday when the temperatures dipped to a winter chill, binoculars on Friday, so persons could see the indomitable Joe and Chrisette Michele, and umbrellas on Saturday, when the heavens opened to herald the arrival of the great Beres Hammond. Again, Hammond took the three nights of the festival to an apex, erasing all memories of who may have come or not come before. His performance was scintillating as he rocked the grounds of the Trelawny Multi-purpose Stadium.
At RIU, they were forced to take the networking outside, setting up tables and chairs to accommodate the many who visited on a nightly basis. Frank Sondern was in his ackee as Angella Bennett and Katharina Doehler played the perfect hosts.
The country's tourism minister, Dr Wykeham McNeill, his minister of state, Damion Crawford, and tourism director, John Lynch, can probably boast that their booth was the most popular, but so could Flow. Not to be outdone, the offerings were first class at the Premium Lounge. This year, Touchstone Productions' Marcia McDonnough put her own personal touch on the event by creating an exclusive VVIP lounge experience at the event.
The premium lounge was sponsored by Diageo through the world's leading whisky brand, Johnnie Walker, which outfitted the area with an imposing bar and dance floor in signature black and gold décor. The area boasted bistro tables, fancy chaise lounges and armchairs, as well as fine catering by Christopher Evans and his team. The fare was complemented by juices and desserts from Pure Country and Tortuga, respectively. The lounges were definitely the place to be for the who's who as influencers were spotted there over the three nights.
janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com
Photos by Janet Silvera