Jamaican Jerk Festival Returns To Southeast Queens

JAMAICA, QUEENS — Jamaican jerk cooking has a starring role in a major festival this weekend in Southeast Queens.

The ninth annual Grace Jamaican Jerk Festival comes to Roy Wilkins Park on July 21 for a day of Caribbean food, musical performances and cooking demonstrations by celebrity chefs.

Jerk seasoning — a Jamaican culinary staple that features scotch bonnet peppers and allspice — will be plentiful, but the festival is also the biggest Caribbean music expo in country, according to a QNS report.

Performers include Bunji Garlin, a soca and ragga soca artist from Trinidad, and soca singer Fay-Ann Lyons, a three-time winner of Trinidad's Carnival Road March title. Other highlights are Jamaican dancehall vocalist Christopher Martin and singer-songwriter Naomi Cowen, a former Miss Teen Jamaica.

Organizers say they expect more than 20,000 attendees. Even Mayor Bill de Blasio made an appearance in 2017 to participate in a cook-off.

Tickets cost $39 in advance and $49 at the gate. Tickets include access to performances, cooking demos and corporate giveaways.

For more information, visit jerkfestivalny.com.