Janet Silvera, Senior Tourism Writer

Patrons wave replicas of Jamaican flag for Sanchez's rendition of the National Anthem during his performance in the Art of Reggae segment of Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival, in Montego Bay, early Saturday morning. Among the songs he performed were 'On My Own', 'Missing You', and 'Down By The River'. He also sang 'Amazing Grace'. - Claudine Housen/Staff Photographer

WESTERN BUREAU:

Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival organisers, Turn Key Productions, and their vendors paid heavily for the four-hour traffic congestion patrons were subjected to Friday night, with some 4,000 customers opting not to attend the closing event on Saturday.

Poised to surpass all previous final nights with an impressive line-up including Russell Thompkins Jr., The New Stylistics, Earth, Wind and Fire, and Jamaica's Monty Alexander, Saturday saw a poor showing of crowd support as patrons swore against putting themselves through the annoyance of driving on the Rose Hall main road.

Organiser of the event, Walter Elmore, is blaming the decrease in numbers on the traffic logistics disaster and the unprepared infrastructure that forced even the Prime Minister to exit her official car and walk to her hotel.

"We got hurt by the traffic congestion. It's hard to put on an event like this without the proper infrastructure in place," he told The Gleaner.

Apology

He said that although the road conditions were out of his control, he wishes to apologise to the audience that has given him continued support over the last 10 years.

"When we do have a four-lane road next year, I hope the audience will come to forgive us and continue to give their unwavering support," he added.

The event, which could safely be crowned number one in the Caribbean, also received criticism from a large amount of disgruntled vendors, who said they lost big on Thursday and Saturday night.

"We didn't even break even. The first night was terrible and tonight (Saturday) is no better," Brad Wong of Parkway Supermarket Successors told The Gleaner.

Mr. Wong and several other vendors blamed the lack of support of their stalls on the massive free food and liquor that the sponsored booths and the skyboxes served throughout the event.

His suggestion is that the organisers encourage the sponsors to issue vouchers that can be redeemed at the food stalls or employ the vendors that are already there to cater to their needs.

At $100,000 per 10x10 stall and eight additional restaurants to compete with, over the last three days, vendor Hosue's Seafood said at the end of the event, some of their igloos were still filled with products.