Jamacian Jerk Cook-Off Festival

Press release for the event:

Oakland’s Linden Street Brewery to host the“4th Annual Jamaican Jerk CookOff Festival & Fundraiser,”benefiting My Yute Soccer on Monday, May 27th, featuring Oakland’s Finest Chefsand Bay Area Radio Personality Sterling James www.jamaicanjerkcookoff.com

OAKLAND (May 21, 2013) Linden Street Brewery is hosting its 4th Annual JamaicanJerk CookOff Festival on Monday, May 27thfrom 1pm to 5pm to raise funds for My YuteSoccer: Embracing Differences Through Soccer. The money raised will allow My YuteSoccer (MYS) to continue on their mission to provide free soccer camps, educate youthin soccer, and promote awareness of sociocultural differences for the general public.Voted “Best Soccer Camp” in 2010 by the readership of East Bay Express, MYS accomplishes its mission by giving youth an opportunity to learn from and to be inspiredby skilled local coaches and players whose passion for the game has internationalinfluence. MYS added a Youth Mentor program in 2010, is a proud recipient of the 2011Innovator’s Award from Oaklandish, and broadened its reach to Lima, Peru – havingimplemented a camp for children living in a shelter in 2011, 2012, and another campplanned for November 2013. My Yute Soccer’s name was born out of a term ofendearment used in Jamaica for young boys and girls and MYS has truly endeared itselfto the Oakland community and beyond.

This year’s Jerk Masters lineup brings an exciting display of diversity, representative ofthe colorful Bay Area community! Local chefs hail from CommonWealth Café and PublicHouse, C + C, Grand Tavern, Rumbo al Sur, s + s gastro grub, AfricariJerk, Evil JerkCart, Nora Spanish Cuisine, and Linden Street Brewery’s very own, The Brude Boys – each bringing their own unique takes on jerk recipes. Craft beers will be pouring from Linden St., Drake’s, and Lagunitas Breweries.

Tickets are $25 good for admission and unlimited jerk tastings. Children 12 and under, free admission.

Adam Lamoreaux, owner of Linden Street Brewery and a huge soccer buff said, “This isthe Brewery’s biggest yearly event, and with attendance doubling each time, we arethrilled to see new faces every year! It’s all about good food, good fun, for a truly goodcause!”

President & Founder, Rovel Sparkes, born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, has been adevout soccer player since childhood playing in every city he’s ever lived from Kingston toNew York City to Oakland. For Sparkes, soccer is a language used for communicationanywhere in the world and represents the source of many friendships and exposure todifferent cultures. It has also been an invaluable resource for connecting with thediversity and complexity of the Bay Area. "When you look at the most elite teams, you’ll see an incredible representation of the world’s love for football [name for soccer abroad]."It is his hope that football will continue to be embraced and loved for its beauty and abilityto bring together the international community.

Since 2008, My Yute Soccer has provided a oneweek soccer camp each summer to 60children at Oakland Technical High School, at no cost to parents or participants. Thecamp maintains, on average, an 8:1 camper to coach ratio. Bay Area Adult Leaguesoccer players and coaches volunteer to provide skills training with an internationalinfluence. Proceeds from this event will support MYS’s efforts to expand its current programming.

For more information about My Yute Soccer visit www.myyutesoccer.org. For moreinformation about Linden Street Brewery, visit www.lindenbeer.com.