Chat-bout.net - The Diaspora Partied ... Oh What A Night!

The Diaspora Partied ... Oh What A Night!

Roast yam, saltfish

The Chat-Bout Tent

breadfruit, run down, jerk chicken, boil corn, manish water an saltfish fritters. It was good!

All of this made last Saturday's pre-Diaspora conference party at The Deck in Kingston a smash. The party goers, from all parts of The USA, UK and Canada who will now put on their pretty dan dan and become conference participants, came with one mission in mind – to party and have a whopping good time. The minute they got off the buses you could hear the oohs and aahs as they were greeted by a stunningly decorated venue, with beautiful Jamaican themes.

There was green, black and gold aplenty as all the sponsors including Chat-bout pulled out the stops for the Jamaican visitors.

They Loved The Jamaican Food

They stood around salivating and watching the yam and breadfruit being roasted, the jerk chicken man ‘jerking’ his chicken, and the manish water being cooked- the various smells of great Jamaican food filling their nostrils. According to an elderly man from Northern Canada ”Mi wish mi coulda bottle dis vibe and teck it back home.”

The Chat-bout booth was a hit and the people did not stop coming.

Chat-bout hand cart

The hand cart, (yes a real hand cart used to transport produce to market) with the display of ol time Jamaican items was heavily photographed and elicited comments such as “A long time mi no see one a dem coal iron yah”, or “Fi mi granny did have one ol enamel chimmy just like dat”.

The display included mortar and pestle, three foot pots, ol time oven, ol time grater, and coconut brush.The hand cart also had food items such as different types of mango, pear (avocado) fresh mint and trust mi, the Jamaican Diaspora people were shameless- “Beg yuh dah pear deh no… yuh know how long mi nuh eat one pear”, or “Bruck piece of dat mint for me meck mi go draw lickle mint tea inna mi hotel room a mawnin.” By the end of the night all the Chat-bout food was gone to happy visiting Jamaicans.

Chat-bout also provided samples of busta, coconut drops, jackass corn, gizzada, grater cake and tamarind ball. Many were comparing notes about how long since they had eaten these real Jamaican treats. One man from Northern Canada declared while chewing his cud “denture or no denture, a over 25 years mi

Trying to guess proverbs and riddles

nuh eat a busta.” Once they were not eating, socializing or partying, many spent a lot of time in the Chat-bout booth completing Jamaican proverbs and guessing the answers to riddles trying to win little Jamaican bankra baskets with Jamaican sweets, Jamaican books and CDs, and Miss Lou dolls. They also received Chat–bout fridge magnets and book markers with Jamaican proverbs or riddles on the back.

The candy throwing session with Fae Thomas, one of the last remaining practitioners of this traditional form of making the pink and white candy, was mesmerizing. Partygoers watched in awe as with dexterity she handled the hot sticky liquid

stretching of the hot brown mixture

Preparing to cut up the candy

made from boiling brown sugar, and observed how with constant stretching, it turned from brown to white. Then she added the pink mixture and stretched, twisted and cut … creating the pink and white candy right before your very eyes.

Chat-bout and Air Jamaica gave away a return ticket to an Air Jamaica North America destination. All patrons had to do was to complete a form and complete a simple Jamaican proverb. In the end, Andrea Spence won the ticket. It was a great party, and the guests were royally feted. It also gave them a chance to catch up with old friends living in other parts of the world and enjoy the feel of ol time Jamaica, right in the middle of the city. Of course half of their time was spent in the Chat Bout tent, either winning prizes, talking about Jamaican culture or just browsing the chat-bout website in the Log on Cawna.