The Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) is now officially accepting entries for its 2021 competitions.
The competitions were open this morning in a soft launch on the JCDC’s website, following last Thursday’s postponement of the virtual Opening of Entries event, due to technical issues.
The competitions that are now open for entries are the Jamaica Festival Song Competition, the Jamaica Gospel Song Competition, Miss Jamaica Festival Queen Competition, the Jamaica Culinary Arts Competition, The Jamaica Creative Writing Competition, the Jamaica Visual Arts Competition, and the National Festival of the Performing Arts subject areas of Dance, Drama & Theatre, Speech and Music.
Though the competitions have begun accepting entries, the official launch for the Opening of Entries digital platform has been rescheduled to Thursday May 6, at 9:30 p.m. and will be aired on local television channels and livestreamed on the JCDC'S social media channels.
"We promised our 2021 Festival participants that we would open entries as soon as possible, and so as soon as we were up and running we launched the website, and we started accepting entries this morning," said the Hon Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport.
"Though we have started to accept entries we will still host our official launch event this Thursday on local television stations and online, to give the public detailed information on our new online entry process," she continued.
The Minister further noted that the JCDC is taking a virtual approach to all of its 2021 competitions, due to the national social distancing protocols caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Potential entrants will now be required to submit their entries digitally via the JCDC’s online platform at www.jcdc.gov.jm, while the presentation of the competitions will also take place in a digital sphere.
Persons interested in entering the 2021 competitions must also first register for a JCDC ID number on the JCDC’s website, as the ID number will be required to complete their entry for submission. Persons should also note that note that they are limited to one entry per competition.
Potential entrants may also note pleasantly that with the exception of the Jamaica Festival Song competition, all other competitions will be free for entry.
“We are charging a small fee of $1000 for the Festival Song Competition as it is the only professional competition on the slate. Just like last year, we are looking forward to having some very big names in the music industry participating as the level of interest shown so far has been very good. I want to wish all the participants in all the competitions the best of luck – may their dreams be fulfilled," Minister Grange said.
