Andre Jebbinson, Staff Reporter

Left: Fancy Miss Lou dolls were on display. Right: The late Louise Bennett Coverly

Gordon Town Square in St. Andrew was blocked on Saturday when scores of patrons turned out to pay homage to late cultural icon Louise Bennett Coverly.

By midday various booths were set up to draw the attention of the townspeople, who also came out for tours of Miss Lou's former residence.

Despite the promise of showers, the day's activities went on smoothly. All attention in the late afternoon was fixed on the stage for the Ring-Ding Sinting concert, which featured gold medal pieces from this year's Jamaica Cultural Development Commission's (JCDC) annual Festival of the Performing Arts.

Jessie Ripoll Primary represented well with a dance piece entitled 'Energy Vibes'. Gordon Town Primary was equally pleasing with the poem Dry Foot Bwoy.

'Gal and Bwoy' concert

Students of Papine High School are in a revival mood at the JCDC 'Tenky Miss Lou' at Gordon Town Square on Saturday. - PHOTOS BY Peta-Gaye Clachar/Staff Photographer

With selections out of the way, it was time for the late afternoon 'Gal and Bwoy' concert hosted by the energetic Fae Ellington. Lannaman's Preparatory was creative with their experimental selection using empty drink bottles and amazed those gathered in the town square with the various melodies the bottles produced.

Jessie Ripoll also showed strongly in this section, but it was the trio from Rousseau Primary that had everybody in stitches with a raw 'ray-tay' dialect. Papine High performed a revival piece and had everybody in the spirit. As dusk crept into the square, the children wrapped up their segment paving the way for adults.

Two finalists in the 2007 JCDC popular song contest, Torch and Maja Bless, who were placed second and third respectively were up next.

The 2000 JCDC gospel song winner Noreta Lewis provided gospel inspiration. Around 8:00 p.m. Unique Vision band was instrumental in racking up some old time favourites to which the people danced and had a good time. Finally, Lloyd Lovindeer closed out the show with some of his hits. Many of the patrons also encouraged him to sing Wild Gilbert and asked whether he had written a song about Hurricane Dean. The tribute concert ended promptly at 9:00 p.m.

Left: Scores of children gather in Gordon Town Square for Tenky Miss Lou. These children's eyes are fixed on the stage as they soak up the entertainment. Right: This lady carries this little girl on her back as she eagerly walks up to the abode of the late Louise Bennett Coverly

Left: Graduates thrill patrons at Ring-Ding Sinting from the Rosseau Primary School. Right: All roads lead to the house of the late cultural icon Louise Bennett Coverly and her husband Eric Coverly. Tours were given every hour to view the house in the Gordon Town hills. - Peta-Gaye Clachar/Staff Photographer