CAEP Apiary Trainees Host Jamaica Night in Montana

After embracing the local culture themselves, CAEP apiary trainees Hugh, Jermaine, and Hector decided it was their turn to share their culture with the people of their host community, Wolf Point. Montana.

“We were going from bee yard to bee yard with our host when I said to my friend we should put on a show and share some of our culture with the people of Wolf Point. Having been in Wolf Point for over three months, I felt it was now time to share our culture and heritage,” Hugh Miller explained.

“So we decided to do it and we contacted the manager of the local Elks Club and proposed that they consider an event called Jamaica Night. They then agreed and turned around and allowed us to use the venue. They even agreed to sell mixes, beer and prepare food for us. The manager Brandi Burshia immediately welcomed out ideas.

The event was set for August 27, 2016, and promised to feature Jamaican food, a documentary, videos, and music. We only had four weekends to get things in place as we were well engaged during the week with our apiary training.

We created fliers, teasers, and made friends with the local DJ. We had three sponsors who graciously donated a total of three hundred dollars. This helped with promotion, activities, and gifts that were given on the night of the event.

The three Jamaicans Hugh ‘DJ Dyshue’ Miller, Jermaine ‘Machine’ Walker and Hector ‘Alpachino’ Jack had specific roles to ensure the event would go smoothly. I was the coordinating manager, Jermaine was the chef preparing the Jamaican meals, and Hector was overall general support.

The support was much more than we had expected because there were so many people who wanted to see everything we had to offer. After many late nights of planning and hanging out with the DJ, we felt we were well prepared for August 27.

Adam Clarke, a Montana native, told us he has never seen an event that brought out so many people for one night, especially attracting people of all ages. During the night, we saw over 200 guests.

The bar served Red Stripe, a premier beer from Jamaica. There was also a Jamaican punch and a red, green, and gold Bob Marley shot all of which was sold out by 11 pm. Before the event, we were featured in the local newspaper and marketed on the radio. After the event, our story even made the front page of the paper!”

Hugh, Jermaine, and Hector are completing apiary training programs at Honeyland, Inc. in Wolf Point.