Festival 2023, A Cultural Jamboree
Parades, music dance and culture! The BVI’s August Emancipation Festival is an annual extravaganza enjoyed each August by locals and visitors alike!
A celebration of the Emancipation Act, which freed the islands slave population in August 1834, festival had originally been a low-key affair. Sponsored by churches and communities throughout the islands, people would get together for picnics, dance and games. Tug of war and maypole dancing were among the highlights. It was then, and still is, a time of unity and camaraderie; when people mingled, enjoyed local food and drink and listened to scratch bands and calypso.
BVI August Emancipation Festival is a Summer Staple
Today, this summer staple remains a time of joyous celebration and unfettered fun, but has grown exponentially. Music, dance, pageants and parades are all part of the two weeks of festivities that kick off mid-July, gets fully into gear with the opening of Festival Village and wraps up with Carrot Bay Fiesta on August 11th and its emphasis on old time culture. In between there are pre-dawn tramps, grand parades, reggae and calypso contests, beauty pageants and car shows.
Festival Village is the event’s heart and soul; it’s where throngs congregate for music, food and entertainment, and kids have a blast on Coney Island-style amusement park rides. Several dozen food booths filled with color, flavors and tempting aromas form the centerpiece of this miniature West Indian village. Here savory local dishes including stewed chicken, fried fish, oxtail soup and rice and peas are served along with drinks ranging from maubi to the ubiquitous rum and coke. Each night the big stage at the center of the Village will feature popular BVI soca and reggae groups along with big-name bands from around the region and further afield.
The Festival and Fairs Committee makes Festival tick through its hard work and dedication. Along with countless volunteers who have organized music events and pageants, parade floats and costumes they have work tirelessly to make each year’s event special.
New Happenings Each Night at BVI Festival Village
Festival Village located in eastern Road Town will be the hub for local bands and world-class acts. From soca and calypso to reggae and fungi, each night will bring something different.
Under the slogan: “It’s a cultural jamboree so let’s fete and be free for Festival 2023, Festival will featue a grab bag of events:
On July 28th there will be a festival warm-up tramp, and on the 29th, it’s the Kiddies Fiesta and the Prince and Princess Show, an annual favorite as the islands’ cutest kids compete.
On July 30th the Miss BVI competition gets underway. The pageant highlights beauty, poise and public service.
Then on the 31st, the BVI August Emancipation Festival officially gets underway with the opening of Festival Village, which is the hub of Festival activities including nightly bands.
The Cultural Food Fair to be held on Friday August 4 at the CB Romney Tortola Pier Park is billed as the most anticipated event of the Festival Season. Organizers advise participants to “bring their wallets and belly” for stewed whelks, corned pork, tamarind stew and other local favorites. In addition to food and drink there will be stories and music, competitions and dancers.
The Grand Parade is a BVI Festival Highlight
There’s little time to catch one’s breath during this non-stop island party. Other popular activities include a procession on Sunday, August 6 to the Sunday Morning Well where the reading of the Emancipation Proclamation will be commemorated; International Soca night will be featured that evening. the Rise and Shine Tramp set for the early morning hours of August 7; afterwards, the Grand Parade will get underway around mid-day. This colorful event, which features festive floats, bands booming from trucks, beauty queens and flamboyantly costumed troupes, is an unquestionable highlight.
Other popular events at the BVI Emancipation August Festival include a boat ride and flag fete on August 8, and the East End Parade and cultural activities on August 9.
Last but not least, the Carrot Bay Fiesta, will be held from August 10 and 11 and feature traditional foods, old-time games, more music and the ever popular donkey races – an event not to be missed.
Additional information can be found at:
https://www.facebook.com/VirginIslandsFestival
