The Parish of Clarendon
Population 237,024
Clarendon is located on the south of the island in the county of
Middlesex. It is the third largest parish and has extensive bauxite
deposits. The parish
takes center-stage in August of each year with the
hosting of the national agriculture show at Denbigh. The parish is the
birthplace of iconic Jamaican
singers such as Freddie McGregor and Toots
Hibbert of Toots and the Maytals as well as writer Claude McKay who was
a seminal figure in the Harlem
Renaissance. Visitors can delight in the bounty to be found in the daily, open-air
market in the parish capital of May Pen, and find respite from
weariness
and ailments in the therapeutic mineral waters of Milk River
Bath.
Clarendon Attractions:
- Mason River Wetlands and Game Sanctuary
- The Indian festival of Hosay, featuring the procession of the
spectacular Tadjah or Tazia with drumming on the Tassa and Dholak drums,
and dancing
- Jamaica Agricultural Society’s century-old Annual Denbigh Farm Show
- Year-end festivities with the African-derived Burru, a drumming masquerade