Michael Barnett. THE EFFECT of Hurricane Michelle took its toll on entertainment over the weekend as several events scheduled were postponed as promoters opted to play it safe.
Included in the events postponed over the weekend were Heineken Startime's 'Living Legends 2001', the 'After Hennesey Party', The Jamaica Cultural Development Commission, (JCDC) 'Mento Yard' and the 'Vintage Reunion Awards' ceremony and party.
Heineken Startime's 'Living Legends 2001', was postponed on Friday after the promoters saw that Hurricane Michelle would affect Jamaica. "We thought it would be wise to postpone it after we discovered that the outer band would be affecting Jamaica" said Michael Barnett, of MKB Promotions, the promoters of Heineken Startime.
Startime was not the only event that was postponed on Friday. The JCDC had earlier issued a statement saying that "owing to the inclement weather the 'Mento Yard', scheduled for Friday, November 2, 2001 has been postponed until November 9."
Marlene Pusey-Reid, Regional Manager for St. Catherine, said the weather also caused some inconvenience to some organisations that had set up booths at the event. "While we didn't incur any expenses, some agencies find it inconvenient to return this Friday," she added.
Two events scheduled for Sunday were postponed closer to their scheduled starting times, as the promoters also feared low turn outs. Delly Ranks, promoter of the 'After Hennesey Party' postponed his event late Sunday evening because of the weather.
Promoters of the Vintage Reunion Party, scheduled for Chasers Lounge on Sunday also postponed on Sunday after it became clear the weather would affect the proceedings.
Only one promoter was able to say how the postponement had affected them financially. "When you have to postpone an event, you lose the deposit that you had given the artiste. We also have to do new ads all over again. Our sponsors are helping us with the new ads but it is an additional cost," Barnett said.
