Bridgetown Events, Things to Do and Festivals 2014 / 2015
(Bridgetown, Saint Michael, Barbados)
Half the fun of visiting Bridgetown is having the opportunity to join in the seasonal celebrations. Events and festivals are staged all over the island, and Bridgetown is an ideal base no matter where the event is held.
Major festivals give visitors and locals plenty of things to do, and participating is the best way to engage the local culture. When planning your trip to
Barbados, be sure to review the list of events so that you can time your visit accordingly. In particular, the week-long jazz concerts each January draw literally thousands to the island, with many talented musicians taking to the streets of Bridgetown each night during this event, watched by crowds of onlookers.
Bridgetown Calendar of Festivals and Events 2014 / 2015
January
- Barbados Jazz Festival - held in musical venues and plantation houses across this island. This jazz fest is without question the musical highlight of the year
- Errol Barrow Day - January 21st, a national holiday honouring the former Prime Minister of Barbados
February
- Holetown Festival - the first settlers arrived at Barbados in 1627, and this colourful celebration and parade held in St. James commemorates the event
March
- Oistins Fish Festival - a day of fishing exhibitions, dancing and parades. This food-centred festivity coincides with Easter
April
- Congaline Street Festival - staged in Congaline Village, this arts and culture bash takes place in late April and draws locals and tourists for plenty of revelry
- National Heroes' Day - April 28th, celebrating the lives of the island's most noteworthy citizens, namely Bussa (the famous slave leader), Charles Duncan O'Neal, Clement Osbourne Payne, Errol Walton Barrow, Frank Leslie Walcott, Garfield Sobers, Grantley Adams, Hugh Springer, Samuel Jackman Prescod and Sarah Ann Gill
May
- Labour Day - first Monday in May, honouring the island's achievements
- Gospelfest - a series of gospel concerts staged in multiple venues, featuring performers from all over the world
June
- International Masters Football Festival - early June, an annual football tournament for competitors over 40 years of age
July
- Crop Over Festival - a five-week event featuring live music, cultural exhibitions, parades and island-wide parties
August
- Emancipation Day - August 1st, celebrating the end of slavery with parades and various fun festivities
- Kadooment Day - first Monday in August, with carnival parades and live music, marking the end of the Crop Over Festival
September
- Moonlight Hike - early September, the Barbados National Trust organises this late-night walk at Andrews Sugar Factory
October
- Sun, Sea and Slams Festival - one of the most important annual bridge tournaments, featuring contestants from around the world
November
- Barbados Reef Bowl - a three-day surfing competition that draws some of the world's greatest talent, based at the Soup Bowl in Bathsheba
- Food, Wine and Rum Festival - four days of great food, cultural performances and, of course, fine Caribbean rum
- Independence Day - November 30th, remembering the day when Barbados achieved independence from the UK in 1966
December
- Run Barbados - a mixed amateur and professional competition, with a variety of foot races catering to a range of skills
- Christmas - midnight mass at St. Michael's cathedral is the focal point of Barbados' Christmas celebrations, with follow-up parties and family gatherings held all over the island