Rae Town longs for return of Old Hits party

With the reopening of the entertainment sector, the people of Rae Town in east Kingston are anticipating the restart of their local party 'Old Hits'.

Rae Town is historically known for parties like Old Hits which started in 1982, one of the longest sound system sessions in Kingston. The party, which is organised by Norma Wright, is normally held at a local bar called Capricorn Inn. The party is known for drawing crowds from every corner of Jamaica and is iconic to the people of Rae Town.

Mark Harris, a resident of the community, told THE STAR that he is eager to see the sessions start again because he grew up watching it bring joy, revenue and unity to his community.

Helps the community

"From mi a boy dis a gwan, enuh, and a nuff money di party bring in and everybody benefit. It helps the community a lot because fi who not working, dem can get a night work, set up a bar and ting and mek a money weh can keep dem fi weeks. All when mi a likkle boy, dis help mi mek money cause mi use to walk and collect di bottle dem off the streets and mek a money. So dung to di youths dem can mek a ting," said Harris.

He also said that the parties created a bond within the community as residents worked together to both clean up and prepare for the parties. Another resident, Keisha Miller, says the business owners have lost much revenue due to the lockdown of entertainment. Miller, who is a bartender, says since the parties stopped, the bar has made little to no money.

"Nothing we nah mek. Nothing! A basically zero. People all afi a shut down dem place. When the party use to gwan we mek money and can do we thing now, nothing," said Miller.

Currently the biggest hindrance to the resumption of the Old Hits event is the curfew hours. The nightly curfew now starts at 11 p.m., from Monday to Saturday, and 6 p.m. on Sundays. Previously, it was at 8 p.m. on weekdays. But residents say the time is too early for people to truly enjoy the party.

"To be honest right now, 11 cah work cause a dem time deh di party really get nice. People just a come out a dem yard all 12 o'clock. More while when the party use to keep, all 6 inna di morning we nuh guh in," said Harris.