Sunday July 31st became the 10th annual Grace Jamaican Jerk Festival at Roy Wilkins Park in Queens. The event’s culinary experiences, cultural presentation, children’s zone and the festival’s main stage held the attraction of all attendees.
Highlights of the day included a visit and greeting from New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Queens council member from the southern district Leroy Comrey. Congresswoman Yvette Clarke,
State President Leroy Comrie Queens Borough, Donovan Richards, Congressman Lee Zeldin and Chief Ron Duprat. The crowd of 15,00 enjoyed a day filled with fun, great food and fun for the whole family.
“We are very pleased with the results from the event,” said Eddy Edwards, marketing director for the festival, “the turnout was strong, people seemed to really enjoy themselves and the production went off without incident.”
Produced locally by VP Records and Jerk Festival USA, the festival has earned the distinction of being the “Largest Caribbean Food Festival in the USA” and is the largest Caribbean-themed event in Queens.
Debut stage performances from dancehall hitmaker Laalee and Protoje and Lila Ike’ added to the overall atmosphere of excitement at the show, which also featured Nadine Sutherland doing a 90s dancehall segment which included a special appearance from Spragga Benz and a double performance from the festival. favorites Romain Virgo and Christopher Martin, called Singers in Action. DJ Platinum Kids and Sky Juice provided a musical backdrop to keep the audience rocking for over 5 hours.
All 30 food vendors in attendance enjoyed brisk business as patrons enjoyed authentic Jamaican food, mostly prepared locally. Queens-based restaurant advocacy group Queens Together sponsored a “people’s choice award” contest for select restaurants at the festival with T&G Flavors of Cambria Heights taking home the trophy.
