Jazz on the Grill 2012 was officially launched on Thursday this week at the Fire Grill Restaurant and Lounge Bar in Rodney Bay. The fringe event, which started very small in 2009 has become very popular with visitors and locals and has attracted many sponsors this year. This year will be the first time Jazz on the Grill will be aired Live on television and Internet.
According to Chef Bobo, owner of Fire Grill who is the presenting sponsor of the event, Jazz on the Grill is arguably the largest fringe event outside of main stage St Lucia Jazz.
“It all started when we had a little idea to get going and to get a little crowd here for the Jazz week and it went pretty well. We have been growing over the last two to three years and this year, we are happy to go Live,” said Chef Bobo.
Bobo says he is anticipating about 4000 people for the week as his staff attempts to put on the best show yet for this year’s Jazz. One of the challenges he pointed out was the structuring of the program to impress sponsors enough to have them support the event and by extension, attract patrons.
“We are slowly getting there and we don’t want it to grow too fast,” Bobo told the STAR. “I have done a few events and festivals and they tend to grow very fast; our aim here is to prevent this from happening as we try to slowly grow to get stronger and stronger while maintaining control every year and keeping the ambiance of the restaurant which is the main thing.”
Peter Byrne says the event has truly grown and the Marketing Manager for Fire Grill has welcomed the assistance from sponsors and the ministry of tourism. Byrne says with their support the event will continually blossom and eventually become the main Jazz event in Rodney Bay.
In anticipation of the massive crowd expected for the week, organizers have made several adjustments and accommodations to house patrons who would like to enjoy this unique Jazz experience.
“We have expanded to the building adjacent to the restaurant—we have a large projector screen, picnic tables for people to relax as they enjoy the show and we have extended the dining room space for more guests to come for dinner at the restaurant,” Byrne said.
Present at the launch of Jazz on the Grill was Minister for Tourism, Lorne Theophilus who says he is more than happy to support this event.
“Tonight’s event is indeed a unique one and I have been supporting as many of the fringe events as I can. What makes St Lucia Jazz memorable is not just going to the main venues. We want to encourage events such as this so that persons can come to St Lucia and enjoy longer stays and participate in a number of other activities, such as those that will be hosted by Fire Grill.”
The minister also took some time to comment on the Opening of Jazz 2012. In his opinion the event was very successful and the decision to bring back the Opening of Jazz to Marchand Grounds was a good one.
“I though the response was almost self-evident,” Theophilus said. “We had the largest crowd reportedly that they have ever seen at the Opening of Jazz and people were elated that the Opening was brought back to Marchand. I think we achieved what the Government wanted in that regard and we managed to bring significant economic activity to the area.”
Jazz on the Grill has been sponsored by Karib Cable for the past couple of years. The company will be facilitating the Live broadcast of the event through its partners and other sponsors of the event, Choice TV and Scruffy TV. Other sponsors include Carpet Media,
Tempo, Excel Signs, Trim Air Charter, Heineken, Chairman’s Reserve and Diamonds International.
