Cultural
CULTURAL CELEBRATIONS
Holetown Festival
In the year 1627 British sailors established Holetown, Barbados' first known settlement, on the West Coast. To commemorate this historic event, there is an annual week-long celebration in February, known as the Holetown Festival. This event features many interesting parades, dancers, live music, arts and crafts booths, and of course, delicious Bajan delicacies! If you are in Barbados around this time, be sure to be part of this colourful and fun-filled event.
This Music Festival highlights the strong connection between Barbados and Celtic countries, featuring music with flavors from Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Occurring every year in the last two weeks of May, the Barbados Celtic Festival highlights many celebrity chefs and top dancers and musicians.
Barbados Independence Day
November 30th is celebrated annually as Independence Day here in Barbados. This day has been observed ever since Barbados gained its Independence from Britain in 1966. The country celebrates this historic occasion throughout the month of November, with events such as sports competitions, street fairs, cultural events and religious services.
From its inception in 2006, this prestigious awards ceremony has showcased and honoured the best and most promising of Barbados’ musical artists. This red carpet affair brings out the Barbadian glitterati to enjoy live performances by top-rated local and foreign musicians and entertainers such as Fantasia, our own superstar Rihanna, Trinidad’s Machel Montano, the American R&B group Allure and many others. This show remains a distinguished part of Barbados’ musical landscape.
Held on the picturesque gardens of Holder’s House, this annual arts festival takes the form of an outdoor theatre showcasing top notch artists, not only from Barbados, but from international countries such as Canada, USA and European Countries. Traditionally held towards the end of March, Holders Season features, among other activities, live jazz, opera and stand-up comedy. Patrons can expect to find food and wine to satisfy any taste as they enjoy the delightful ambience and the wonderful performances presented. This is certainly an event not to be missed.
With hundreds of churches from many denominations dotting its’ landscape, it is no surprise that Barbados hosts one of the largest religious song festivals in the region. Gospelfest, which has graced the musical calendar for nearly 20 years, takes place during the month of May at locations throughout the island; it is a celebration of gospel music which attracts popular acts from all over the world featuring musical genres such as reggae, jazz, soul and calypso.