NEW YEAR IN THE AIR
IT WAS atop a cliff beside the sea. The pitch-black expanse stretched to eternity. There were no fireworks to illuminate the skies, but on the roof of Africana House, located at Boston in Portland there was a New Year’s Eve party in the salubrious air.
The live show by Deondra Riley and The Extreme Edutainers blew the lid off things with songs from many genres and schools, and when Riley and her band were not rocking guests from all over the world, the deft selection from popular Portland selector DJ Sheppy made them want to dance.
The dancers were there and did what they do best: dance. And there was a little live-wire who forgot that he was human. But the versatile DJ Sheppy did not let him go unchallenged. He gave the gathering a master class of moves to current and vintage dancehall hits. Poetry in motion it truly was.
Minutes to midnight, out came the tiaras, top hats, and noisemakers. At the stroke, the air was punctuated with shouts of “Happy new year!” and wild cheers that floated on the wind, sending 2018 into the Caribbean Sea into oblivion.
Sparkling wine flowed and bubbled in abundance as the music blared until the wee hours of the morning when patrons, some very tipsy, left the rarified space, down a spiral staircase, across the ‘Great Hall’ and through the doors of the regal Africana House.
The party was part of a series of events called ‘Holiday Magic’ organised by Great Huts Paradise on the Edge. Algorhythms featuring Cassilda ‘Cassandra’ Willoughby, set the pace on Christmas Eve. They stepped it up on Christmas Day with an Amazing Christmas Brunch, featuring DJ Sheppy.
Riddim Band from Port Antonio, Portland, grabbed the musical baton on the eve of New Year’s Eve with their eclectic sounds and engaging lead singer Cassilda ‘Cassandra’ Willoughby. The right way to start the New Year on January 1 was with the Right Bank, all the way from Trench Town in St Andrew.