Jerkfest 2020

JerkFest Toronto 2020 was lit! Not even COVID-19 could out the fire of the hottest summer festival. Things looked bleak for a moment when the City of Toronto announced that there would be no park permits issued to hold events in the summer, which meant JerkFest was without a home, matter of fact, all large gathering events across the city were cancelled.

Sponsored by Grace and presented by TD Ready Commitment, the festival ran August 8-9th from 6 pm to 11 pm each night. It was non-stop fun steered by a group of international and local personalities that included: Canada's Renaissance Man Jay Martin, IG Funnyman Majah Hype, Blog TO's Azalea Hart, Jamaican comedian White Yardie, and Rebel Vibez's Carrie Mullings aka Mumma Canada.

Thanks to our excellent team, and strong supporters, the unique virtual experience delivered the same richness of JerkFest with delicious food, outstanding music and all round-great vibes! The flavour and fyah on stage was electric with one of the world’s hottest Reggae performers, Grammy Award-winning recording artist Beenie Man performing on both nights. The stellar line-up included: rising Jamaican songbird Lila Iké, Grammy-nominated Reggae singer Jah Cure, Queen of Soca Alison Hinds performing from Barbados, and amazing breakout singer Heda Rose.

Many talented Canadian artists also graced the stage of the JerkFest 2020 virtual festival and held their own with special mentions going out to five-time Juno Nominee singer/songwriter Ammoye, multi-award winner Tasha T and a JerkFest favourite - Django Pan Fyah. They all showcased their talents with performances of Reggae, Soca, Caribbean dance and steelpan music.

Multi-award-winning Chef Noel Cunningham did a fantastic set of food demonstrations throughout the virtual broadcast, popping in with step-by-step easy to follow Caribbean recipes. Our JerkFest food vendors from across the Greater Toronto Area elevated the "S" in scrumptious, with their mouth-watering Caribbean cuisine; of course the top order was the world-renowned jerk chicken. Patrons were able to preorder their meals for delivery or curbside pickups in time to enjoy their food while watching the live stream.

Part of JerkFest Toronto’s mandate is to give back to our communities. We recognized that COVID-19 had robbed many families of their livelihood. As such, we partnered with Grace Foods Canada Inc. to help those families. More than $9,000 worth of food was donated to Knights Table, North York Harvest Foodbank and Agincourt Community Services. And that’s not all, $400 in cash was delivered to each food bank, thanks in part to the kind donations of our phenomenal patrons! As always, there were lots of prizes and giveaways including our grand prize of a three-night vacation stay for two at Travellers Resort, Negril Jamaica, plus $600 towards airfare!

Thanks to all our government partners, sponsors and supporters who made JerkFest 2020 a huge success! Most importantly, thanks to all of you who tuned in, and to those who donated. If you missed out, check out the replay right here on the website

2021 is a special year for us as we celebrate a significant milestone - our 20th-anniversary celebration! Stay tuned for all the details and our headliner announcement!