Veteran market vendor Ivey-Roy Malachi helps Ann-Marie Vaz select fresh lemons in Coronation Market, downtown Kingston, on Saturday. - Photo by Barbara Ellington

They shed cocktail dresses for jeans and T-shirts, high heels for track shoes, and headed to the heart of the capital to check out prices at the popular Coronation Market on Saturday.

After hearing the talk of the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC), and other private sector entities' drive to bring back vibrancy to downtown Kingston this Christmas, some uptown housewives traded Gucci for shopping bags.

Ann-Marie Vaz, wife of Information Minister Daryl Vaz, her sister and a girlfriend jumped out of bed at 6 o'clock to see if all the talk about the bargains at the market was true.

"It's my first time, I have never gone there before and I usually have someone go there for me," Mrs Vaz told The Gleaner.

She, like many other up-towners, had avoided the general downtown shopping district out of fear of crime and harassment. But when her sister made the trip with a friend a few weeks ago and returned home unscathed but overjoyed at her bargains, Vaz began to reconsider.

Then came the move by KSAC, and she needed no further prodding.

She was advised that the area in front of the Darling Street Police Station was a safe place to park and, leaving BlackBerrys behind, the market-bound belles wended their way through Coronation. Just about everything from Trelawny yams to St Elizabeth tomatoes were enticingly displayed.

Vaz's maiden voyage into the bowels of the bustling 'Corrie' was witnessed by this reporter and it was not long before she was overheard telling her friend, "I have only spent $1,500 so far and look at the amount of things I have. I am not going back to (name of a popular uptown supermarket deleted)," she joked.

With each new quotation, her surprise grew - whether it was okras for $20 a dozen; shelled green gungo for $250 (she usually pays $500 for the same quantity uptown); or large, fresh lemons at $70 a dozen (usually gets three for $70).

Companions impressed

Her companions were equally impressed, all vowing to start making fortnightly trips to the market. We also spotted Elegant Weddings' Lorraine Clunie with her shopping list, and Dennis Hickey of MoneyMasters Limited, who revealed that he heads directly to Coronation Market every Saturday morning, right after jogging.

'Christmas in the City, Downtown Comes Alive' was launched by Kingston Mayor Desmond McKenzie last Wednesday and will see the kick-off of Grand Market shopping in the downtown area this Wednesday. Saturday, December 19 will be a special shopping day for Coronation Market.

Also spearheading the initiative are Scotiabank, The Gleaner, the Kingston City Centre Improve-ment Company and the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce.

barbara.ellington@gleanerjm.com