Of musical retreats, classical concerts and birthdays

Chester Francis-Jackson, Gleaner Writer

My darlings, it promises to be yet again another weekend of fun and festivities, as fab society is all set to continue enjoying life in Jamaica.

Dears, while Kingston will be pumping with a number of activities, including the launch of the 2011 Reggae Film Festival at the Legends Café at the Bob Marley Museum Complex on Hope Road, the north coast will not be denied. So, for those wishing for an out-of-town excursion, both Ocho Rios and Montego Bay will be teeming with activities for the culturally aware and classical music aficionados!

Tonight in Ocho Rios, it's all about the Island Village Shopping and Leisure Centre, where music mogul and hotelier Chris Blackwell and his team will be hosting the first in a series of prime time concerts designed to position and establish the centre as the pre-eminent place of entertainment in that picturesque resort town. With the irrepressible Tarrus Riley; the simply awesome reggae princess Etana; and queen of soca, Allison Hinds being the featured headliners, y'all know we are talking top-flight entertainment here. Manager for the plaza Delroy Morgan, promises nothing but the best in entertainment, a secure venue and parking for patrons and guests. It's a definite must for the party-hearty!

Musical feast

Then my dears, it will certainly be a musical feast of another kind in Westmoreland. Located in a village named Caledonia is the simply quaint theatre gallery called Moun Tambrin. This is the former Jamaican retreat of award-winning American novelist and writer Alex Haley, acquired by Dr Rus Gruhlke in 1975, which he now operates as an artist's retreat, complete with gallery, performing theatre and all.

Gruhlke has teamed with Gayle Rich, of Boston, Massachusetts, to offer and showcase classical concerts every spring for many years, in a bid to sensitise the community to different musical genres than their usual diet of dancehall or reggae, and has been using Moun Tambrin as a vehicle to promote the classical and jazz genres.

Now, this year's offering will be a classical concert featuring the works of Mozart, Dvorak and Bach, to be performed by Stephanie Wingfield, a Boston-based accomplished concert cellist, who holds degrees in law and architecture; cellist Jose Carlos Oxamendi Vicet, originally from Cuba, who has travelled extensively through the United States and Europe as a performer; acclaimed Jamaican violinist Steven Woodham; along with violinist Nicholas Ashton of Boston; pianist and violist Ken Allen of the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston; and violinist, pianist and concert master Brian Clague; with a special performance by violist Gayle Rich will complete the two-day line-up and offering, which gets under way this evening and continues tomorrow. It promises to be a cultural treat of the fab order, as the works of acclaimed sculptor Lesbert Lee and the paintings of Dr Gruhlke will be exhibited.

Birthdays

And, speaking of fabulous people, places and celebrations, happy birthday wishes to: Sagicor's Richard Byles; The Jamaica Pegasus's Nancy McLean; hotelier and singer Donahue Jarrett; sensational model Jeneil Williams; and the fab Gail Thompson of Solid Agency; who all celebrate today.

Tomorrow, the charming Annie Paul; the lovely Shirley McCatty-Harrison, who will celebrate at SuperClubs SuperFun Resort in Runaway Bay; Christina Tucker; Dr Howard Harenstein, north coast habitué of Trumbull, Connecticut; and impresario Dave Smith in Toronto, Canada will all make it a very special day!

Celebrity celebrations

Attorney-at-law Aloun Assamba; and the lovely Venice Davis share a birthday as well. On Monday, the beautiful Antoinette Shirley; Julian King in Oakland, California; Hansel Lynch in New York; and Charlotte Fodor-Buchannan-Fernandes in Surrey, British Columbia; celebrate their special day.

Tuesday will see artist Jivanii Redmarks; the affable Robert Collins; Opaline Palmer-Quinlan; Junior Taylor in Montego Bay; and the lovely Amanda Cross Seaga in Florida sharing the same birthday. The following day Mark Brooks and the lovely Claudie Warner, formerly of the French Embassy here in St Andrew, will celebrate.

On Thursday former Miss Jamaica World, Cornelia Parchment-Horn; the charming Sonjia Griffiths; Sigrid Gaffga-Ribbe in Montego Bay; John Beckford in Florida; and Ray Stewart Jr, son of Jamaican sprint sensation, now in Afghanistan will all celebrate their special day.

The month of February really belongs to Steven Ueker and his wife, the fabulous Ann Chen Ueker, as on the 14th, the beautiful couple celebrated the first anniversary of their surprise Valentine's Day wedding, hosted at their Montego Bay home last year. On Sunday, Ueker celebrated his birthday and four days later, it was his wife's turn to blow out the candles. Belated good wishes all around and then some!

Then belated birthday wishes also to Reverend Easton Lee and banker Ryland Campbell, who both celebrated on the 20th. And to European Union diplomat Alex Dropinski, who celebrated on Monday.