Jamaica Rum Festival 2020: A Moment on the lip, A lifetime of Sips

A few weeks ago, the Jamaican social event scene came alive, as the second staging of the annually held Jamaica Rum Festival went into full swing on Saturday, February 29th and Sunday, March 1st. To say that I was eagerly awaiting the second staging of this event would be a gross understatement. I have literally been waiting to attend this thing all year. I mean I just wrote and entire blog post telling you all that it was one the 2020 Jamaican Food Festivals that I was most looking forward to attend. Like the sweet nectar that is rum, the event was a delish testament on everyone’s lips from the start of 2020. I even went as far as to start a calendar countdown that I would share on my instagram account.

You see I had a serious case of FOMO after missing the 1st staging last year. I had previous engagements that made it damn near impossible for me to attend the event so I was plagued with images of endless fun from the event on Instagram. They would not let a girl just miss something in peace. Every where I looked were pictures of smiling faces and excited laughter after experiencing Jamaica’s first Rum Festival. Talk about torture! So with a determined spirit, I knew I wasn't going to miss the 2nd year. I cleared my schedule, got my presold ticket from early and rounded up my crew because we would be there by the hook or the the crook and on our eyelashes if needs be. Presold tickets were available at multiple outlets for $2000 JMD, whereas gate prices were $2500 JMD. There was also a season pass for both days for $3500 JMD. Very affordable for a festival of its kind if you ask me. My excitement was definitely piqued.

The wait for the day to come was literally unnerving but it finally came like a much anticipated Christmas present and I was ecstatic! To my dismay however, Saturday morning began with heavy rainfall. Showers of blessings or a sign of times to come perhaps? I honestly couldn't tell you but I know the question on every eager patrons mind that day was 'Is rum fest still keeping? They say patience is a virtue but man the wait to find out was a rough one. Imagine something you were looking forward to so long just being cancelled like that. Hot damn! But it was all we could do really. Play the waiting game and listen out for updates on the event. Hoping and praying the rain would ease up enough that we could still have the festival that we have all been looking forward to.

I think God truly has a special place in his/her heart for my little island of Jamaica. The collective prayers of the day were obviously heard by the divine being because as the time moved from morning to afternoon, the heavy showers became a light drizzle and then it eventually stopped altogether. Can I get a booyah?!! Not long after we received and update that the start time for the Jamaica Rum Festival would be moving back one hour later from the originally slated 1 pm to 2 pm. The event will go on afterall.

Now I know that for an event of this magnitude and with such an unforeseen interruption in the day that the organizers would probably need more time to set up and get ready for the patrons to arrive. So I decided to give them some leeway to get everything in order and opted to push my arrival time to 5/6 pm so I would have just enough light for some proper photos and to be able to scope out the place. I also decided to change my outfit to more rain friendly wear because this weather was not about to catch me slipping outta road. No siree Bob.

Okay long prelude over. I know I talk a lot but I had to set the scene and mood for the day. Sheesh! Okay! Let's get to the nitty-gritty of the event shall we.

The Arrival

The event was being held on the pristine and serene lawns of the Hope Botanical Gardens. The scenic landscape of lush flora and fauna coupled with the vast open space provided the perfect backdrop to host an event of this stature and magnitude.

Now there are two main entrances to the grounds of Hope Gardens. The main entrance off the Hope Road main road and the entrance through Hope pastures. Both of which have provided parking spots for visitors. Additional parking was also made available at the University of Technology (UTECH) parking lot for the anticipated large turnout. A free shuttle service was also provided at each parking grounds that carried you to and from the event grounds.

My entry to the event was pretty smooth. As a born and bred Kingstonian, I happen to know my way around and was privy to all the entrances that I could take to the event. So I opted to take the route that led me to the Hope Pastures entrance because I presumed it would be the easiest way in.

Call it perfect timing or divine intervention, but my arrival couldn’t have been timed more perfectly. As soon as I drove into the parking lot, I found the perfect parking spot. Then, the shuttle to carry us to the main event area arrived so I moseyed my way onto the bus and settled in to be carried over. As mentioned before, I bought a presold ticket, so I just sauntered in through the gate and was given my arm band after a necessary security check. It was an effortless glide through and I appreciated it. Of note, I really liked that the security guard asked to touch me before she did her search and invaded my personal space. Truly top notch.

In addition to my wristband, at the entrance I was also given my much coveted rum festival souvenir cup and my drink sample (chit) card. The card gave you access to samples of four 2 oz rum samples from some of the present spirit companies free of cost. The chit card had 2 randomly assigned pre-selected companies and 2 wildcard options to choose any of the other companies to get your samples from.

I entered the event in eager anticipation. Armed with my cellphone, chit card and souvenir cup in hand, I set off to explore the grounds and capture the memories to etch in the stone of mind forever. Finally I was here at an event I was looking forward to all year.

The Event

The first thing that greets you after you pass the security check point is the massive entry archway with the Jamaica Rum Festival logo on display on the outskirts. Once you venture deeper and deeper into the event then you notice that you are surrounded by screens also displaying the rum fest logo which acted as the perfect backdrop for patrons to get their first set of photos off.

I think the event organizers really got two major things right in my books. The first is they made excellent use of the space available. The different aspects of the festival each got their own little nook to shine and showcase their best offerings. It was a very breathable environment and you did not feel like you were tripping over or bouncing into other people with every move you make. You were able to glide from space to space effortlessly. This allowed more room for patrons to really partake in each of the different aspects of the festival. This was a really big win for me.

The festival layout was such that the different categories were arranged into clusters. For those who aren’t familiar or have never been to the rum festival before, in addition to the focus of the liquid gold that is rum, the festival also features the best of the entire Jamaican culture. The food, the music, the art and artisans. Jamaica is a nation of multifaceted creatives everywhere you turn so it was an excellent way to show off our peacock feathers.

The event featured the CB Food village which was on the right once you entered through the archway, whereas the remainder of the festival booths were on the left. When you entered the food village, your mouth watered and your belly growled at the sight of all the scrumptious food delicacies being prepared and offered by some of the country’s best culinary artists. From Pink Apron to Sora; to Bad Dawg and the Jamaican favourite Pan chicken; there was literally something for every foodie and hungry belly at the event. The space also had ample seating the the form of wooden picnic tables, as well as giant display screens so that patrons could still be in tuned with the performances being held next door in the main area. The only thing I wished was that the food establishments had offered more rum influenced menus or tried to utilize rum in anyway in their food creations to really showcase how rum could be used to enhance a meal. I was honestly a bit disappointed about that. Whether it be a sauce, glaze, drizzle or a rum flavoured dish. I would have loved it if the culinary artists stepped a bit outside their comfort zones and provided rum based offerings to their menus.

Also sharing the space with the food village was the rum fest seminar area. This year the Jamaica Rum Festival offered rum tasting and appreciation seminars from the country’s top master blenders and rum experts. This provided attendees with the perfect opportunity to delve further into their love for the spirit as more than juice a delicious treat and elevate their taste buds to become rum connoisseurs.

As mentioned before, the rest of the event was being held in the adjacent space to the left of the entry archway. Within this space, there was the main stage area where the performers lit up the stage and an open clearing for guests to stand and vibe along to the sweet melodies that were being belted out or participate in any of the different competitions or games being held on the stage. There was also the artisan village where local artisans were able to show off skills and sell their products to patrons. There were also the booths for the respective rum companies as well as other major corporate sponsors which provided patrons with samples of their delicious rum and numerous activities to win prized so that there was never a dull moment. The activities were a plenty and you were always kept entertained.

The history of rum in Jamaica is a long and spirited one as mentioned in my post about the Appleton Estate Rum Tour. I won’t get into that today. But for those who weren’t fully aware of the strong rum history in our country, the festival was amazing enough to set up a history house full of information to enrich the unknowing mind. I think that was a real winner in my eyes and definitely something I would look forward to next year.

The final aspect of the main village was the bathroom area. Honestly this was a great set up. There were plenty of porto-potties and a central hand-washing station, which I think honestly was so important for an event like this and they really showed up and showed out. Like I said, they really utilized their space very well. Everything in its place and a place for everything.

Now the next thing I will say that I will say that rumfest did really well is they understood that we live in the age of social media and they decorated the event with that in mind. This event was filled with so many instagram worthy places. From the flower wall on entry to the food village to the video screens at the entry way to the respective booths setting up their own instagram focused area for taking pictures. The decor for the event was pretty darn great. There was no way you could leave that event without at least a few good shots for your highlight reel (well unless your friends are just horrible photographers. In that case ……… umm……. hush!).

The Entertainment

As mentioned before, music is a huge part of Jamaica’s culture so what exactly is Jamaica Rum Festival without a killer lineup of musicians. This year, the Jamaica Rum Festival had a jampacked line up of some of Jamaica’s best performers and entertainers. Honestly when I saw the line up my anticipation level shot up to sky high. Because I am an unofficial ravers #nellaravers, my mind was whirling from I saw Ding Dong was slated to perform. But when I saw that in the lineup was also Lila Ike, Naomi Cowan, Protoje, Bugle, Tessellated, Mortimer and Spragga Benz were also on the lineup, I was READY! Ready to be serenaded and swoon to the music. Ready to be hyped up and buss a dance. I was just ready. And the performers did not disappoint. Admittedly, some performers were not as awesome as I would have hoped, but I think the general collective was pretty good. Protoje, of course was a whole mood alongside his indignation artists. You have to love a man who brings others up with him and pushes them forward.

The Hiccups

Now the event for me was overall a reasonably good one. It had some pretty good highs but as with anything, it was not without mishaps. This is just my review of the day’s hiccups based on Day 1 experience. Don’t stone me!

1. The lines were too damn long!

As I mentioned before, my entry into the event was pretty seamless. But as the time got later and later, the lines became ridiculously unbearable and entry to the event was severely delayed. My friends who arrived later than I did really felt the brunt of this. You see my friends live in the Mona area (approximately 15 minutes or less drive from Hope Gardens) and it literally took them an hour to get to the parking lot by Utech and then another 45 minutes to an hour just to get into the event. They even bought pre-sold tickets but by the time they arrived the lines were so long, I literally waited on them an additional half an hour from when they said they were in the line at the entrance before I was even able to glimpse them.

The food lines were also terrible. I think a hallmark of any event, especially one that was to be an all nighter like this one is that you want to have ease of getting food. But between joining the line to the sole cashier kiosk and then to joining the long food lines to the multiple food vendors, I ended spending the day and not eating anything. Can you imagine a wangagut like me did not even get to have the satisfaction of tasting the numerous delicacies that was been paraded in front of my eyes?! Oy vey! The lines were just too much.

2. The samples were too damn low!

As mentioned before, you were given 4 20z sample options which I think the number of samples allotted was good but 2oz! Oh come on! I really feel like we could have gotten a tups more. 30z? A proper shot. Something. Not to mention that many of the places ran out of sample containers from early and some did not want to make use of the fantabulous cups that were given to us on entry. I, myself, did not get my sample from Kgn 62 because by the time I found them, they were closed. And this was before 7 pm. No bueno.

3. Why only one cashier at the food village? Why sway why?

A big issue with the food village was the cashier situation. One cashier for multiple places and no card machine at said cashier, despite it being advertised that Point of sale would be available. That was a turn off for me to be honest. A simple recommendation is to have multiple cashiers available. I am thinking approximately 4-6 stations and cashiers could be focused on food vendor clusters and maybe 2 of the cashier stations could be for cards only.

4. Ran out of souvenir cups

Many presold ticket holders did not get the token souvenirs that is a popular trinket at rum fest which left a lot of persons disappointed. I have 2 recommendations in this regard. a) If you print 5000 tickets then make maybe 5500 or 6000 cups. Over prepare instead of underwhelm. And./or b) Give out cups with presold tickets and have the caveat at the gate that gate purchases will come with cups while stocks last. With cups being given along with the tickets on purchase.

5. More water detox stations

Now this one was very interesting because depending on which day and what time you attended you got a different interaction with water lol. I do not think they gave out water station tickets on Saturday but on Sunday it was given alongside the drink chits. In fact, on Saturday I saw one water station but I was not given any water until I was leaving the event. Seeing as this is an alcohol based festival, I would have liked to see more water and detox stations about the place at least 2 more.

6. An information station

An issue for me was that I wanted to attend the seminars but I didn’t know where to find out about them. Like what time were they going to be held? What were the seminars about? Especially since the rain had pushed back the event by an hour. I did not know how it would interfere with the seminar schedules. I would have loved it if there was a general information station where you could find out about any aspect of the festival if you wanted to.

Overall thoughts

I think hiccups aside, this was another successful hosting of the Jamaica Rum Festival. I give the event a solid 3.5/5 stars because I do believe there is room for improvement but the event in its entirety was a pretty good one in my books. I definitely am looking forward to what next year has to offer. And being that I would no longer be a novice, I would be better able to navigate it better.

That’s all for today folks. Hope you enjoyed this wrap up and review of the event. Now, how about you? Did you attend this year’s staging of the Jamaica Rum Festival? What did you think? Share your comments down below. I really love hearing from you.

Until Next Time….. Cheers!

Jamaica Rum Festival 2020 Review