Jamaica Day celebrates tradition, culture, and reggae

The 41st annual Jamaica Day kicked off today, celebrating Jamaican culture, lifestyle and cuisine offering Montrealer’s an opportunity to experience a culture like no other.

Held at the Parc Martin-Luther-King, the celebration welcomed hundreds of visitors to immerse themselves in Jamaican lifestyle.

Organized by the Jamaica Association of Montreal, the event feature traditional foods, reggae music and cultural traditions.

“The spirit of one love. To be impactful, that is what Jamaica stands for, that is what it’s supposed to be,” says Jamaican High Commissioner-designate to Canada, Marsha Coore Lobban.

“One love to the world”

“My thing is, let us see how we can build bridges, let us see how we can look beyond differences, and see that it’s a melting pot of culture that makes such a beautiful fabric,” Lobban said.

For decades the celebrations invited Montrealer’s in an effort to promote and showcase Jamaican culture. Renowned reggae artist Michael Kennedy, who goes by LukieD, said he has been singing for over 30 years and says the music and culture defines his way of life.

“Reggae is our way of life, it’s our culture so for me to be doing reggae, it’s important for me because we call reggae music.. we call it struggle music,” he said.

“[So] when you sing it, it’s uplifting other people so for me to be carrying that banner as a reggae artist is important.”

The event featured food vendors offering chicken, oxtail, goat curry, spices, and drinks for the greater community.

With Jamaica’s National Day for Independence being on August 6th, Lobban said the timing was impeccable. She discussed how important the contributions Jamaica has had on the world was vital to educate the public.

“Jamaica, as you know, is known globally for the music, for the rhythm, for the food,” she said. “And so our culture has become part of the dynamics and so this festival is important, especially around this time when it’s independence and you’re recognizing the importance of nationhood and the importance of that impact and what it has meant over the years.”