Residents of Olympic Gardens and surrounding areas came out in their numbers for the first staging of the Wray & Nephew Fight Nights which took place Saturday last at Cling Cling Oval.
Presented by the Jamaica Boxing Board of Control, the event saw several lead-up fights to the main course of the heavyweight boxing square-off between Jermaine "Breezy" Richards and Omar "Crane" Edmund.
Still one highlight of the night was iconic dancehall artiste Sizzla Kalonji in performance.
The singjay blazed through a string of hits which connected with the patrons, some of whom sang along word for word.
Dancehall/reggae artiste Sizzla Kalonji (left), who delivered a workman-like performance, shares lens time with Pavel Smith, marketing manager, Wray & Nephew..
Sizzla was in high spirits when the Jamaica Observer caught up with him post-performance.
"I wanna thank Wray & Nephew, the other sponsors, and the organisers for putting on such a wonderful show. We need more things like this so we can have our kids see the platform and ,seeing what it's like to be out there in the world, and just be themselves," said Sizzla.
The artiste, who is also a fan of the sport of boxing, said initiatives such as this help to bring unity to communities so that residents have an opportunity to come together and have fun.
"The people unite around anything that's really positive, because they've been doing negative stuff to themselves. So they'll unite around beautiful stuff like these. They just need more opportunities, open more doors for them, and encourage them some more," Sizzla reasoned.This New Device Is Leaving Neuropаthy Experts SpееchlessHealth Insight Journal. A section of the crowd at Saturday's Wray & Nephew Fight Nights.
He added, "I believe that more corporate entities should support more initiatives in the inner-city communities because they are their main consumers of their products."The entertainer said he is finishing up his latest album, High Grade, which should be released shortly.
Sanchez main acts at Lovers Leap
Veteran singer Sanchez will be the guest performer at the Lover's Leap Lighthouse Series on July 8.
"Sanchez is don. His songs are amazing and should be experienced live while you can. Interestingly, a ticket holder explained that she has heard him live before and he sounds as if she was listening him from the acoustics of her radio. [There will be] great environment, great entertainment, great cultural art expression, and great company," Jason Ricketts, marketing and promotional manager of Lover's Leap Attraction.
This is the second staging of the series. The first one featured Romain Virgo, whom Ricketts said delivered to over 1,000 patrons.
He further said that he and his team are looking to retain that momentum.RICKETTS...Sanchez is ready and so are the wonderful people."Our inaugural event was perfectly presented, so our organising committee has been working assiduously to maintain our production standards. Sanchez is ready and so are the wonderful people of western Jamaica, particularly south St Elizabeth," Ricketts said.The marketing spoke of the alignment of the choice of quality entertainment."Sanchez was chosen because of the nature of the lighthouse series, which appeals to the more mature and conservative audiences. The event aims to showcase reggae music with a live band performance. Sanchez is one who, in our opinion, has perfected that art," he said.
DJ Ratty & Bones and Step By Step Band will provide pre-Sanchez entertainment.There will also be extras for VIP patrons.
"Patrons can expect to be serenaded by the awesome voice of Sanchez in an intimate and ultra-premium environment. VIP guests will be entitled to food from our famous Lover's Leap menu and RumStripe from Red Stripe," Ricketts added.
When she entered the 2023 Miss Universe Jamaica Northwest pageant Shaday Forsythe had two things on her mind. One was to overcome her anxiety and the other, to highlight her initiative to assist the youth within her community.
On Sunday night, she beat seven other competitors at Half Moon Conference Centre in Montego Bay for the Miss Universe Jamaica Northwest title."I suffer from anxiety and I also didn't have much confidence when it came to public speaking. But being in the pageant helped me to overcome those fears. Going into the national finals, I know I will improve even more, " Forsythe disclosed in an interview with the Jamaica Observer on Tuesday.
Along with her runners-up Sashagay Marks (second place) and Milissa Fletcher (third place), the ladies are automatic finalists in the national Miss Universe Jamaica pageant.She added: "I wanted to develop myself and to enter into a new stage of my life. I wanted a change and I didn't know where to start until the Miss Universe Jamaica Northwest pageant was recommended to me."
Simple Japanese Trick for Nail InfectionHealthy GuruThe 20-year-old marketing executive who resides in Montego Bay — she is originally from Trelawny — says she is passionate about helping others."I am most passionate about self-development to many of our youth, who have wasted their potential and I seek to kick-start my initiative, which is called Project Z, to elevate youth. I've also created a website to assist with this cause," shared Forsythe.A past student of William Knibb Memorial High School in Trelawny, she went on to pursue an associate degree in marketing at the University Commonwealth Caribbean and guest services at the Heart College of Hospitality.Natalie Morris has been the pageant manager for the past three years.
"We had 22 entrants this year, which we eliminated [down] the number to 8. The top three have been given automatic placement in the national finals and this speaks to the growth potential of the young ladies. I am optimistic that they have the drive to represent as ambassadors to make a positive change through this platform," said Morris.
Shaggy & Sting for upcoming show
Shaggy and Sting have collaborated to stage the One Fine Day Festival on September 9 in Philadelphia, USA.The multi-platinum-selling artiste made the disclosure via his official Instagram account on Monday."Sting and I are throwing our very own festival — One Fine Day — in the beautiful city of Philadelphia. We'll be playing a joint set of combined greatest hits plus there'll be performances by Thundercat, Koffee, Tank and the Bangas, Flor de Toloache, Giordana Angi, Kes and G Love and Special Sauce on two stages," Shaggy said in the post.
The festival will be held at The Mann Centre, Fairmount Park, in Philadelphia.It is being presented in collaboration with the Cherrytree Music Company and Live Nation. Sting and Shaggy have been fast friends and collaborators for the last several years. Among their achievements has been the joint album 44/876 which earned the Grammy for Best Reggae Album in 2019.The duo will headline the main stage at the festival, performing their biggest hits. It will be the only time that both artistes will perform together for the remainder of the year.In a media release, Sting said: "I love how Shaggy and I effortlessly push each other to the creative edges. After having made the 44/876 album together, and recording an album of Frank Sinatra covers in a reggae style [the Grammy-nominated Com Fly Wid Mi], a day of hits and musical adventures in one of our favourite cities seemed like the next illogical step.""Sting is a catalyst for musical curiosity," added Shaggy. "When we collaborate, we combine our musical tastes, individual cultures and a sense of wonder. We wanted to invite some of our favourite musicians to gather in real time and share that very vibe at One Fine Day."The 44/876 album, which debuted at number nine in the United Kingdom and number 40 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, has so far been certified gold in France and Poland.