Dreaming away the weekend

Krista Henry, Staff Reporter

Kingston, St Andrew, Westmoreland, and possibly parts of every parish in the island had representatives in Negril this weekend.

Traffic, crowds, vendors and partying was everywhere. On Saturday for instance, just getting to Long Bay Beach Park for Daydreams, one of the events on the list of Smirnoff Dream Weekend parties, was, in a word, hectic.

It was no different for Flavours or Twisted Spiritz the day before, and it certainly was not different for Heineken Yush. Everybody was there.

At Long Bay Beach Park, there was a makeover in store for patrons, as the bar, the VIP section and the selectors were shuffled around. With the selectors at the back looking unto the crowd, a bar in the centre, food available throughout the event, and the VIP section raised above the crowd, Daydreams had a slightly different vibe from previous editions held there.

The liquor flowed and so did the music, as partygoers, dressed in white, were not prepared to go all the way to Negril and worry about getting dirty. They danced.

Some patrons went for simple white outfits while others went all out. Divas were aplenty.

Two men dressed in blue and white sailor outfits stood out.

Day-night affair

The day-night affair was not just about music though. By the beach, persons could take jet ski rides if they felt like doing something else.

Konshens, D Major, Aidonia, Big Ship and Elephant Man were just some of the entertainers who could be found in the crowd.

DJs Coppershot, 3rd Dimension, Richie D, Renaissance and Chromatic kept the music coming with a wide selection of genres.

Rock songs got a good response such as Black Eyed Peas' I Gotta Feeling. Rap and dancehall also got a fairly good response, but patrons were like horses straining on a bit, as selectors reigned them in by avoiding too many 'bruk out' songs.

A sea of white left the venue at minutes to 9 p.m., only to turn up hours later at Yush.

It must have felt like déjà vu for the weekend, as everybody found the energy and the patience to go through a day like that twice! And this reporter has no doubt, today they will be "on to the next one".