By Shanna K. Salmon
KINGSTON, Jamaica, (JIS) – Two of Jamaica’s premier festivals will converge on Saturday, March 7, when the Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Festival partners with the Jamaica Food and Drink Festival to deliver a one-of -a-kind gastronomic showcase.
The event will be held on Saturday, March 7 at Hope Gardens, from 12:00 noon to 10:00 p.m. Director of the Tourism Linkages Network, Carolyn McDonald Riley, described the collaboration as an exciting first for the team.
“2026 Coffee Festival is going to be different. It is where Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Festival meets ‘Meet Street and the Market’. It’s two iconic events under one roof, costing you even far less,” McDonald Riley said.
Meet Street and the Market forms part of the Jamaica Food and Drink Festival’s portfolio of events.
The partnership came after organisers of the Jamaica Food and Drink Festival were forced to postpone their November Meet Street staging due to hurricane Melissa. With a rescheduled date coinciding with the Coffee Festival, the decision was made to collaborate.
“It’s a partnership that is being explored… . We had no challenge with it. We are drink, we are coffee; they are Meet Street. So, it is really food and drink – there goes the synergy,” McDonald Riley stated, to further assure coffee enthusiasts that the immersive Blue Mountain coffee experience will remain central to the event.
“We won’t be dropping any of our activities that you’re accustomed to for Coffee Festival. We’ll still have our Mixology Competition, our Barista Competition, and we’ll still have our informative and interactive seminars that you are accustomed to,” McDonald Riley informed.
Patrons can also look forward to live entertainment from DJ Delano of Renaissance, the Charlestown Maroons and Etana, in addition to the Kiddies Village and Farmer’s Market.
McDonald Riley also informed that the event will feature more than 70 booths, bringing together a diverse mix of artisans, chefs and coffee connoisseurs and further encouraged Jamaicans to take advantage of the unique collaboration for this year’s event.
“We want all our patrons to come out and enjoy two great festivals under one roof. This doesn’t happen very often. It’s a whole day of activities. Come out, celebrate with us. It’s a family event, so it is one that is worth coming with the family,” McDonald Riley said.
Meanwhile, Jamaica Food and Drink festival director, Alicia Bouges said the collaboration aligns naturally with the brand’s legacy of culinary excellence.
“Meet Street and the Market is under the Jamaica Food and Drink Festival umbrella, a three-time recipient of the World Culinary Awards Caribbean’s Best Culinary Festival and winner of Best Food Festival at the Tourism Enhancement Fund’s inaugural Gastronomy Awards. We have been showcasing Jamaican culinary talent and bold flavours for a decade,” Bouges added, emphasising the wider tourism impact of the event.
“We welcome visitors from across the island, the United States and the Caribbean to our festival as we position Kingston as a destination city,” Bourges said.
