CTV, the local cable station owned and operated by Creative Production and Training Centre (CPTC) on Arnold Road in Kingston, was in Mandeville, recently and a significant number of persons from Mandeville and its environs knew it and were enthusiastically participating in the experience.

It was just past eight o'clock on a Saturday night in the bustling mid-island town. Some residents could have been relaxing at home after a gruelling day of work and shopping, but the almost two-and-a-half hours of pure entertainment presented by the CTV Mandeville Road show had kept them fixated, and as the names of the main acts that would grace the stage later that night were announced, they advanced incrementally closer to the stage as each new act erupted, piercing the night with their own unique sound. As the crowd grew, crowd control barriers had to be erected to keep the swelling audience from getting too close to the stage.

From the moment 7-year-old Justin swayed his tiny body rhythmically to the reggae strains of a popular dancehall song - he had the large crowd that packed inside the Mandeville Plaza eating out of his hands.

The pint-sized youth, eyes gleaming with joy at the attention that he was getting, effortlessly danced through song after song, his fluid movements appropriately reflecting the right moves for each song. The reaction of the crowd peaked to fever-pitch when Justin was instructed by Anthony Cruz, one of the two MCs for the night's show, to teach an elderly man from the audience the most recent dance move, the 'gully creeper.'

When Cruz issued the challenge, the audience's anticipation was palpable, as with the advanced stage of the senior, they seemed dubious that he would be able to keep up with the sprightly Justin. However, when the speakers emitted the unmistakable rhythm that required the dance move and Cruz began chanting, "gully creeper, gully creeper" and Justin hunched his little shoulders and mimicked the action of creeping stealthily through a gully, the oldster matched his steps creep for creep and even added some vintage flavour of his own, much to the delight of the audience which literally erupted, their eyes glued to the now almost synchronized duo on the slightly elevated stage.

Aaron Silk, brother of the late Garnet silk, was one of the three headline acts for the night and he carried with him evidence of the Silks' musical dynasty. Brothers, cousins, sons, and even friends of Garnet, who died tragically in a fire at his home in Mandeville some years ago after his rise to fame for a short, but memorable period with his 'silky' voice and biblically inspired lyrics, gave performances which were haunting reminders of Garnet's musical career and talent.

When one of his brothers raised his left hand skywards and his voice, eerily similar to Garnet's, emitted from the speakers, there was a hush over the audience and someone whispered as they gazed at the crooked fingers of his left hand; "that was his hand that got burnt in the fire." Garnet, though many years dead, had come alive again even momentarily as his family members, some of whose voices trembled with emotion, paid tribute to him.

Noddy Virtue, a talent discovered by Digicel Rising Stars and who has become very popular in Jamaica since his participation in that competition, had the crowd, moreso the ladies, eating out of his hands. When he belted out Jimmy Cliff's Rebel, the women's faces mirrored the emotional intensity on his face as they zoned in on the consummate performer and he fed off their adoration. However, it was when he emotionally sang his way through the vintage song, originally done by US rock star, Bon Jovi, "Bed of Roses" that the women really screamed. If at that point, anyone at homes nearby, had fallen asleep in front of their television sets after the nightly news, the decibel level of the still thickening crowd would have made them aware that somewhere in the town, some folks were being fully entertained.

Cruz, who, like the Silks, hails from Mandeville; also could do no wrong when, close to the end of the event, he discontinued MC duties and took to the stage.

"Who can name three programmes that are aired on CTV?" media personality, Denise 'Isis' Miller, who shared MC duties with Cruz, shouted "Which channel on Wilson's Cable can CTV be found? What does CTV mean?" were some of the other questions that members of the audience answered in order to win spot prizes including a night pass to Superclubs' Hedonism II. City of Kingston Credit Union (COK) and Lerner Shops were also sponsors of the event.

At almost half past nine pm when the last performer had ignited the audience and the music from Jerry D's Vibe Mobile, which had been playing current reggae selections, faded, the crowd drifted reluctantly away.

But CPTC's Director of Sales and Marketing, Neil McIntyre, had already begun conceptualizing the logistics of the next road show to be held in Montego Bay. So folks in that resort town can prepare to experience culture and be entertained when the next CTV road show rolls into the second city sometime this summer.

The Form Beneath The Stone - Nagina's Three-Week Body

New MiPhone hits MoBay…

Diverse styles and offerings at 'Musicfest'