By Neil Armstrong
The Jamaican Canadian Association (JCA) is doing things differently to mark the 58th anniversary of Jamaica's independence.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the organization planning virtual events for its traditional
JCA annual awards and its Independence flag raising ceremony.
Also new this year are collaborative Jamaica Independence virtual celebrations across Canada from August 6 to 8, 2020.
"We are so excited to launch the first ever national Jamaica Independence Celebration, under the name Jamaican Canadians Coast to Coast, that will feature events in eight cities," said the organizers.
They note that in the Canadian 2016 Census, 309,485 individuals identified themselves as Jamaican Canadian. These cities are home to approximately 209,000 Jamaicans:
• Halifax, Nova Scotia
• Montreal, Quebec
• Ottawa, Ontario
• Toronto, Ontario
• Windsor, Ontario
• Winnipeg Manitoba
• Calgary, Alberta
• Vancouver, British Columbia
"The vision for this initiative is to showcase and celebrate the rich culture of Jamaicans in Canada and highlight our significant contributions. To achieve this, we will be broadcasting several events on our platform atwww.jcccgroup.ca<http://www.jcccgroup.ca/>," said Adaoma Patterson, president of the JCA.
The highlights of the event are as follows:
• Opening ceremony with messages from the heads of Jamaican and Canadian Government
• Virtual curated tour of the African Nova Scotian Museum to celebrate the arrival of the Maroons – the first Jamaicans to settle in Canada http://web1.bccnsweb.com/
• A celebration of 'The Harder they Come' - Jamaica’s very first feature-length film with renowned singer, Jimmy Cliff
• Tribute to the trailblazers – A discussion with senior Jamaican Canadians who have lived in Canada since the 1960s
• Cultural Edutainment for Children
• Jamaican cooking demonstrations and
• A journey through the history of Jamaican Music from – Ska, Mento, Rock Steady into Dancehall
