Mind, Body and Soul
Retreat off to a great start
published: Sunday | June 26, 2005

Contributed
President of Supreme Ventures Ltd., Brian George, is surrounded by (from left) Karen Clarke of An Elegant Affair, and United States actresses Terri J. Vaughn and Malinda Williams. Williams and Vaughn were among the special guests at the Villagio Gaming Lounge in the Kingston Hilton Hotel on Monday, enjoying the first night of the Mind, Body and Soul Retreat which concluded in Ocho Rios, St. Ann, yesterday.

Barbara Ellington, Senior Gleaner Writer

The fifth annual Mind, Body and Soul Retreat put on by Karen Clarke of An Elegant Affair kicked off at Half Moon Hotel in Montego Bay on Monday and continues in Ocho Rios all week long. This year over 50 sister girlfriends from the United States will be joined by several Jamaican women for the Jamaica Tourist Board-endorsed event.

The retreat takes place in several of the finest and most luxurious villas in Ocho Rios. These include Manana, Eight Rivers, Coral Cay, Frangipani, Roaring Pavillion, Stonaway and Emerald Seas. These villas offer a more relaxed and private setting for the week's activities, as well as introduces the overseas guests to another Jamaican vacation alternative.

nightlife activities

Some of the highlights of this year's retreat include a bus tour of Kingston on Wednesday during which visitors will be taken to Emancipation Park, Bob Marley museum, New Kingston's hip strip; the National Stadium complex, some of the capital's more affluent residential areas and some exciting nightlife activities, as well as dining at a popular Jamaican restaurant.

bask in paradise

Back in Ocho Rios there are daily belly dancing classes, yoga and aerobics exercise classes, make-up and poetry workshops, motivational workshops, special shopping expeditions, spa days and the opportunity to simply bask in paradise.

Tuesday night's Reggae Welcome featured a lively performance by Voise Mail who performed for the first retreat five years ago. They taught the American sister friends the latest dancehall moves and distributed their posters prior to jetting off to New York for an engagement.

Everyone present enjoyed the delicious fried fish, grilled lobster and festival served up with spicy sauce by the experts brought in from Helshire.

Among those in attendance who have now become regulars at the retreat are Jewel Diamond Taylor, who will this fall be hosting a television show, and actress Malinda Williams, who has branched out into the world of fashion design.