“Roots to Reggae” Grand Prize Winner Aimi Rix in Jamaica (Day 1)

At the beginning of the year the Jamaica Tourist Board and Jamaicansmusic.com launched the Roots to Reggae competition and gave their Facebook fans a chance to win a trip to Jamaica. The lucky winner would get a chance to explore Jamaican music from “Roots to Reggae!” during Jamaica’s annual “Reggae Month” celebrations in February 2012. Of all the submissions we received Artist and Radio host Aimi Rix was selected as the winner!

Throughout her tour Aimi stayed at the luxurious Courtleigh Hotel in New Kingston. On Day one of the tour a beaming Aimi (bearing prints of her artwork as gifts) departed the Courtleigh Hotel eager to begin her adventure. Her first stop would be the famous Bob Marley Museum. The museum is located on the site of the legendary musician’s home, which he purchased in 1975. This house, featuring 19th-century architecture, was Marley’s home until his death in 1981. It was converted into a museum six years later by his wife, Mrs Rita Marley.

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February 27, 2012 at 4:14 pm | News & Updates | 1 comment

News & Updates: Follow the Jamaica Tourist Board and Jamaicansmusic.com Roots to Reggae Winner in Jamaica!

A month ago the Jamaica Tourist Board in conjunction with Jamaicansmusic.com launched the Roots to Reggae competition and gave their Facebook fans a chance to win a trip to Jamaica. The lucky winner would get the opportunity of a lifetime, a chance to explore Jamaican music from “Roots to Reggae!” during Jamaica’s annual “Reggae Month” celebrations in February 2012.

To qualify for the Grand prize of an all expense paid trip to Jamaica entrants were asked to submit a 2 minute video on why they love Jamaica and Jamaican music. Of all the submissions we received Artist and Radio host Aimi Rix was selected as the winner! She will spend 5 days on a music tour of Jamaica that will include a tour of Bob Marley Museum in Kingston, a meeting with a Jamaican entertainer, a tour Tuff Gong studio and tenement yard in Trench Town among other exciting activities. We will be following her every step of the way and invite you to join us as well by following the hashtag #roots2reggae on Twitter and looking out for updates on Facebook!

February 17, 2012 at 7:59 am | News & Updates | No comment

Special Feature: Jamaica Turns 50: Top Jamaican Musicians

As Jamaica celebrates Reggae Month and remembers the birth of reggae music legend Bob Marley, this week’s post will focus on the notable Jamaican musicians that have shaped the culture and history of Jamaican music.

Marjorie Whylie

Jamaica’s leading female musician Marjorie Whylie epitomises the preservation of Jamaica’s diverse genres of traditional and contemporary music. As the musical director of the National Dance Theatre Company (NDTC) Marjorie Whylie is responsible for the fusion of movement and musical complement into theatrical expressions of the culture and history of Jamaica. Whylie boasts over 20 years of experience in the field music, serving over the years not only as musician but composer, presenter, musicologist and educator. She is known for her ability to move seamlessly from genre to genre, blending effortlessly the sounds of classical jazz with the strains of traditional African folk.

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February 7, 2012 at 11:49 am | News & Updates | No comment

News & Updates: Full Calendar of Activities unveiled for Reggae Month 2012

The Bob Marley Museum was ‘a buzz’ with music industry professionals, politicians and tourists as JaRIA unveiled a full Calendar of activities for Reggae Month beginning January 29 with the Dennis Brown Tribute Concert on Orange Street. The show featured artistes such as Damian and Stephen Marley, Tarrus Riley, Cocoa Tea, Junior Reid, Beres Hammond, Half Pint, John Holt and Ken Boothe.

Mr. Abishai Hoilett, youth representative on the JaRIA Board revealed that JaRIA’s signature event ‘Reggae Nights’ will be held at the Emancipation Park for this year to accommodate the many patrons who were unable to partake last year due to limited space at Edna Manley College. The weekly Wednesday events will dramatically chronicle the movement of reggae through a series of five live concerts featuring drumming, folk, mento, jazz, classical, dancehall and alternative. The first in the series of Wednesday Reggae Nights will feature Classical, Jazz, Mento and Ska and will showcase acts such as the Edna Manley College Orchestra, Pimento Players, Jamaica Symphony Orchestra, Gilzene and the Blue Light Mento Band, Jamarokaz, Maurice Gordon Quartet, Yaad Beat, Samuele Vivian, NRI Workshop and The Jolly Boys.

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February 1, 2012 at 1:56 pm | News & Updates | No comment

News & Updates: The Jamaica Tourist Board’s Jamaica Jazz and Blues 2012 Contest

Thousands of people from across the globe are now in Jamaica anxiously awaiting the start of the 2012 installment of the Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival. In addition to the amazing experience of witnessing legendary local and international musicians perform live the Jamaica Tourist Board has a special treat for those in attendance.

Patrons at the festival will have the chance to win hourly prizes during all three nights courtesy of the Association of Jamaica Attractions Limited (AJAL), Dolphin Cove, Dreamer Catamaran Crruises, Mystic Mountain, Captain Hook, Scotchie’s Jerk Centre, The Pelican Restaurant, Prospect Plantation, Blue Mountain Bicycle Tours and Half Moon Equestrian Centre. To be eligible for a chance to win contestants must follow @VisitJamaicaNow on Twitter and be present at Jamaica Jazz and Blues 2012 at Greenfield Stadium in Trelawny at the time of the contest.

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January 26, 2012 at 5:54 pm | News & Updates | No comment

Special Feature: Jamaica Turns 50: Jamaican Artists

This year (on August 6, 2012) Jamaicans all over the world will celebrate the 50th anniversary of our nation’s independence. We at the Jamaica Tourist Board invite you to celebrate with us, as we recognize this truly significant moment in our history.

Join us each week as we count down the top authentically Jamaican things to do, eat and experience in over 50 categories during Jamaica’s 50th Anniversary of Independence. This week we continue our special feature withe Jamaican Artists. Masters of colour, material and textiles, these Jamaican artists championed the translation of Jamaica’s natural beauty onto works of art.

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January 20, 2012 at 11:20 am | News & Updates | No comment

Pon Di Road Weekly Roundup: Pon Di Road (Season 2) #20 – Bob Marley Museum

Each week the adventurous trio Calee, Stephen and their baby Nyla invite us to join them on their journey across Jamaica with another exciting webisode of Pon Di Road in Jamaica . Now, as we look forward to today’s premiere of a brand new webisode, let’s take a look back at last week’s “Pon Di Road (Season 2) #20 – Bob Marley Museum”.

The King of Reggae music and still to this day the most influential musician to come out of Jamaica is the legend, Bob Marley and a trip to Kingston is not complete without a visit to Bob Marley Museum. The museum is located on the site of the legendary musician’s home, which he purchased in 1975. This house, featuring 19th-century architecture, was Marley’s home until his death in 1981. It was converted into a museum six years later by his wife, Mrs Rita Marley. Watch, as Calee and Stephen enjoy this famous spot!

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January 19, 2012 at 4:31 pm | News & Updates | No comment

News & Updates: “Pon Di Road in Jamaica” voted 1 of 5 Travel Brands Inspiring Wanderlust on YouTube!

The Jamaica Tourist Board’s hit travel webisode series Pon Di Road in Jamaica has been voted the number 3 travel brand inspiring Wanderlust on Youtube by Mashable! The series (now in it’s second Season) takes you from the ritzy to the roadside following an eccentric couple and their baby girl on an island wide adventure across Jamaica. Inviting people across the globe to experience Jamaica without leaving their seats.

The article states: What’s Jamaica really like? The Jamaica Tourist Board sought to answer that question in 2010 with a web series called Pon Di Road that featured Calee and Stephen, a couple that takes a somewhat ritzy view of the island nation. Like Undercover Tourist’s channel, the videos here aren’t slickly produced, but provide a decent view of what it would be like to take a trip to Jamaica.

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January 17, 2012 at 10:55 am | News & Updates | No comment

News & Updates: Jamaica Named World’s Leading Honeymoon And Cruise Destination

Jamaica was a big winner at the prestigious 2011 World Travel Awards Grand Final Gala Ceremony, held on January 11 at Katara Cultural Village in Doha, Qatar. In addition to winning the award for World’s Leading Honeymoon Destination, Jamaica was recognised for the sixth consecutive year as the World’s Leading Cruise Destination.

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The destination also won for World’s Leading Boutique Group (Island Outpost), World’s Leading Villa (Round Hill Hotel and Villas), World’s Leading Family All-Inclusive (Beaches Resorts) World’s Leading Caribbean Attractions Company (Island Routes), World’s Leading Tourism Development Project (Port Authority of Jamaica – Port of Falmouth) and World’s Leading All-Inclusive Company (Sandals Resorts).

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January 16, 2012 at 4:25 pm | News & Updates | No comment

Pon Di Road Weekly Roundup: Pon Di Road (Season 2) #19 – Knutsford Court Hotel

Our favourite travel trio is still on the move! Exploring, enjoying and sharing with us just a taste of all there is to do, see and taste in Jamaica. Each week fans await the next webisode of Pon Di Road in Jamaica for a chance to live vicariously through them. So far in Season 2 we’ve seen them do everything from enjoy secluded natural hideaways in Portland to camel riding in Ocho Rios.

As we look forward to today’s premiere of a brand new webisode let’s take a quick look back at “Pon Di Road (Season 2) #19 – Knutsford Court Hotel”! Calee, Stephen and baby Nyla return to Jamaica’s capital Kingston and check in to the lovely Knutsford Court Hotel. Here, they enjoy a bit of rest an relaxation and take a dip in the pool. Remember to tune in today at 5pm (EST) on Facebook and on our My Jamaica YouTube Channel for the premiere of a brand new webisode to see where these three will take us next!

January 12, 2012 at 6:21 am | JTB TV, Kingston, News & Updates | 1 comment

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