The Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC), an agency of the Ministry of Youth and Culture, is now accepting entries for the 2014 Jamaica Festival Song Competition. The deadline for entry is Friday, May 16, and entry forms and guidelines are available on the JCDC website: www.jcdc.gov.jm and all the JCDC Parish offices islandwide. The competition is open to Jamaican citizens and all other persons residing in Jamaica for a period of not less than two (2) years prior to the closing date of entry in the competition.

JCDC Festival Song Competition Coordinator, David Reid, noted that “The entries should encapsulate the Jamaican spirit, generate public interest and patriotism and provide a musical backdrop to this year’s Independence Festival celebration.”

Entry forms should be submitted to the JCDC head office at 3-5 Phoenix Avenue, Kingston 10, or any of the parish offices islandwide. Entries must include a completed application form with an original signature, a non-refundable entry fee of J$1000, typed lyric sheets and a CD containing the song. The duration of the song should be no more than four minutes.
    
Since its inception, the Festival Song Competition has been a musical platform for cultural exposition and for entrants to make an indelible mark on Jamaica and the world. Some of the past winners include : Toots and the Maytals, Desmond Decker, Eric Donaldson, Roy Rayon and Stanley Beckford.