Music is universally recognized as the international language, a language that has the capacity to bring diverse cultures and peoples together, and over the years there is a music that has emerged as one of the fastest growing musical languages. A music springing from the Caribbean, then traveling around the world-and that music is reggae music.

Friends of Reggae International was organized:

• To promote reggae music as a cultural art form
• To successfully produce Kansas City's Reggae Music & Jerk Food Festival
• To bring together regional and international reggae and music artists to entertain that festivals' audiences
• To continue to develop audiences for and to provide vehicles through which reggae music may be shared with various communities
• To facilitate, through reggae music, the unification of these diverse communities and cultures, enhancing the quality of life for all
• To create a festival environment conducive to tourism, a positive economic environment for merchants and to promote commerce in general.