Melrose Farm kite festival for the kids, says organiser
Published:Saturday | April 26, 2014 | 12:00 AM
Carl Gilchrist, Gleaner Writer
THE RAIN had stopped and kites started to dot the mid-afternoon skies again. Every now and again, one of the multicoloured creations would lose the wind in its sail and careen to the ground, crashing beside some startled patron.
Further on, kids could be seen trying to remain seated on the mechanical bull for more than just a few seconds, while others were trying to climb rocks. Still, there were others riding the train, while some were experiencing horseback riding for the first time.
Seated on the side of a fountain, a clown was painting faces of the smaller kids. On the microphone, the MC was calling out numbers on phone cards, compliments of sponsors, Digicel.
But beyond all of this, the festival, introduced as a family event, offers even more.
It meant an opportunity for family members to spend time together and for vendors to earn some money for their families.
A mother, desperately trying to hoist a kite for her young son, kept failing. But she kept trying, until finally the kite took off. It was joy for both of them.
She shied away from offering a comment to Rural Xpress as she continued to help her son to keep the kite flying.
A vendor, with dozens of kites on the ground, was soliciting buyers. The nuts man, milling around, appeared to be doing more business than he was. At the other end of the property, people had started lining up at the food court to get a bite.
"It's a thing that everybody looks forward to," explained promoter Denzel McDonald of the Melrose Farm Kite Festival in Claremont, St Ann. "People who live abroad come in every year for this event, now more people are now coming at Easter than at Christmas. It's a family thing, and they all look forward to it."
It's not a money-making venture for the organiser. For the first 10 years, admission to the festival was free, so, too, the kiddies' rides and bun and cheese and drinks for the kids. It's only in recent years that adults have been asked to pay an admission fee to offset some of the costs, and the bun-and-cheese serving discontinued.
"It's nothing profitable, it has never been. It's really for the kids. It started because we wanted to do it for the kids, so I don't think I'll ever charge the kids. If it reaches that point where I would have to charge the kids, then I wouldn't bother with it. There are still a lot of unfortunate kids around whose parents can't give them anything for Easter, but after 10 years, this has become unsustainable. Digicel has always been on board, but sponsorship is hard to come by."
PHOTOS BY CARL GILCHRIST