Jamaican culture will be on show at the inaugural Reggae Summer Splash which takes place August 7 at Bunche Park in Miami Gardens. The event celebrates Jamaica’s 59th year of independence from Great Britain.
Mykal Roze and Red Rat will headline the four-hour show which starts at 3 pm. It is the brainchild of Shannan Ighodaro, a councilwoman for Miami Gardens.
“For a country that has produced people like Marcus Garvey and Bob Marley, I thought it would be great to have an event like this. Caribbean people including many Jamaicans, have contributed so much to Miami Gardens,” she said.
Though it has a lifestyle theme, Reggae Summer Splash will honor several Jamaicans who have excelled in different fields in Miami Gardens and South Florida. They include Dr. Lavern Deer, for her tireless advocacy against human trafficking and Hortense McGillvery, a leader of the city’s effective Crime Stop initiative.
Ighodaro, a native of The Bahamas, moved to the United States at age 23 to study at Florida A&M University. She has lived in Miami Gardens for many years and has seen up-front the contribution of Caribbean people to her adopted hometown.
Early this year, she introduced a resolution for an event that would celebrate Jamaica’s Independence Day which is actually August 6. It passed 4-3.
Officially named a city in 2003, Miami Gardens is home to one of the largest black populations (115,000) in the United States. Half of that figure are of Caribbean heritage.
Written By Howard Campbell