Stephen Gayle, an event organizer and performer as DJ Foodie, said the event is about creating a sense of togetherness while showcasing what Caribbean culture has to offer.
“It’s more of a togetherness to showcase what the Caribbean has to offer from a reggae standpoint,” Gayle said.
Gayle said Regina has not previously hosted an event of this magnitude focused on reggae and Caribbean culture.
“Regina is a smaller city, and so they might know a couple of artists, a couple of songs and stuff like that, but from a wider range, I don’t think they know,” he said.
The festival grew out of conversations about ways to bring reggae and dance music to a larger stage in Regina outside of clubs.
“The club scene is a little bit smaller, and we only cater for maybe 100 or so people, so it’s quite limited in that perspective,” he said.
Moving the festival outdoors allows more people to attend and experience the music, food and family atmosphere, Gayle said.
The first festival drew more than 1,000 people, according to Gayle, with attendees coming and going throughout the event.
Attendance this year is expected to increase as performances take place over two days.
As one of the performers himself, Gayle said music has always been a major part of his life.
His father is a singer, and Gayle grew up in a community where music was played throughout the week.
One of his high school friends helped introduce him to DJing.
“He was the one who actually started out first, and then his brother, myself and a couple more friends, we all got into it,” Gayle said.
Gayle said music remains deeply connected to Caribbean communities and can provide an emotional outlet.
“Music for us is like a stress reliever,” he said. “We use music as a cure for that pain.”
He hopes the festival can continue growing each year and eventually attract visitors from outside the city.
“Our idea is to, from a tourism point of view, get people from out of town to fly in, fill our hotels, eat our food and stuff like that,” Gayle said.
He said bringing more visitors to Regina could provide an economic boost while giving the city an opportunity to experience reggae and Caribbean culture.
“We want to do that on a large scale,” Gayle said. “That’s what we are aiming for.”
Information on the lineup for the festival can be found here.
