A couple of months ago, I was fortunate to spend the Easter holiday in Jamaica – a sunny, warm, tropical alternative to most Easters that have been spent in much cooler England. I had already been to events on the island like KAMPAi Good Friday party at Mystic Mountain and was looking forward to the main KAMPAi event at Dunns River Falls, so the daytime needed to be slightly… calmer.
I’d seen the posters around for a while promoting the family-oriented annual Boston Jerk Festival and to be honest, I couldn’t wait to go. On previous trips to Jamaica, I’ve always missed out. Sometimes the event takes place before I’ve arrived in Jamaica, at other times it’s literally a day or two after I’ve left.
Now, Boston Bay is famous throughout Jamaica (and the rest of the world) as the birthplace of jerk food, so where better to hold the Boston Jerk Festival, assembling the greatest award-winning jerk vendors in the world!
My very own portion of jerk chicken served with Festival (think sweetened fried dumplings) – I couldn’t resist a bite before taking a photo – whoops! The event offers a breadth of food in jerk style, making it the perfect chance to try more unusual jerk dishes like rabbit, reindeer and wildhog.
Good food wouldn’t be right without the perfect drink to wash it all down. I loved being able to try freshly prepared sugar cane juice with ginger. A refreshing (and not too sweet) cooler.
Whilst the day is heavily focused around good food, Jamaican’s love to have fun across the whole family. The event includes a play area for children ensuring that attendees young and old have a chance to enjoy the event.
The event overlooks Boston Bay, Jamaica’s premium surfing spot.
Boston Jerk Fest lasts for the whole day and ticket holders can arrive at any point (re-entry with a ticket is permitted). A main stage is organised where musical acts take to the stage in the evening, however I was unable to stay and enjoy this element. Tickets for this event were priced at JA $800 (around £6) per adult and JA $300 (around £2) per child.
