A BARRY café owner is preparing to launch Barry onto the Olympic stage by hosting a Caribbean two-day event as Jamaica's athletes go for gold.
Hilary Brown, who set up the Strickly Roots authentic Caribbean cuisine café and takeaway, on Holton Road, last month, will stage a celebration of all things Jamaican at the Good Shed site, Barry Waterfront, when the London 2012 Games is in full flow on August 4 and 5.
But before that the grandmother-of-two, who owns the only Caribbean eatery in the Vale, has hopes of fulfilling an ambassadorial role when she visits Kingston, Jamaica, in April to attend Expo Jamaica.
The four-day event, at the National Arena under the theme 'Brand Jamaica to the World’, aims to promote the products and services the country has to offer.
But Hilary, having already spoken to Jamaican High Commissioner Anthony Johnson, has ambitions to promote products and services direct from businesses and companies based in Barry, the Vale, and Wales.
And she is urging anyone interested in getting their company's message out onto Jamaican soil to get in touch, alongside anyone interested in taking part in her two-day Barry event - volunteers, scouts, entertainers, traders - and adopting the Caribbean style.
Hilary, 52, of Barry, said: "The plan is to elevate the profile of Jamaicans in Wales.
"There are lots, but there's not really a Jamaican community and families in the Vale of Glamorgan have to travel a long way to find things."
Hilary intends capitalising on what will be 50 years of Jamaica's independence and Olympic celebrations in August, by staging a Barry-based Jamaican celebration featuring entertainers, DJs, fashion shows, comedy, storytelling, dance and food.
"We think we know that the Jamaican athletes are going to do well in the Olympics and we are going to have a big screen so we can watch as much of the Olympics as we possibly can," she added.
"I'm trying to get the Vale of Glamorgan to look at more diverse communities and see the benefits we have to offer and see how these communities can regenerate the Vale."
Anyone interested in joining the event steering group, getting involved in the event, or championing their goods and services on a Jamaican stage, can call Hilary on 07979 153645 or email: stricklyroots100@gmail.com
