Crop Over
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 |  |  |  |
| Country and Region | Barbados — Saint James |
|---|---|
| Type of Festival | Dance, Music |
| Location of Festival | St. James and various locations in Barbados |
| Festival Address Information | Crop Over |
| Festival Description | The highlight of the annual cultural calendar is the Crop Over Festival. This Festival originated on the sugar plantation as a means of celebrating the end of the sugar cane harvest season. The Crop Over Festival was revived in 1974 after a period of depression and involves community participation in fairs, concerts, cart parades and other cultural activities with an integral component being the Calypso Monarch. The three-week festival runs from mid-July to early August. It is a lively showcase of all facets of Barbadian culture, a fluid blend of African survivals and western modernity. Activities include plantation fairs, a donkey-cart parade, a King and Queen of the Crop competition, street malls and the "Pic-o-de-Crop" Calypso Monarch competition. |
| Festival Dates | May 2 - August 16, 2008 |
| Festival Links | http://www.cropoverfestival.bb/ |
Festival Events:
Participants (some awards receivers 2005):
- Best Folklore Band: Tell Me A Bajan Story by Roseanne Lewis
- Best Fantasy band: Paradise Lost by Betty West
- Best Historical band: Mélange by Richard Haynes
- Best traditional: Blue Box Cart by Raymond Gill
Events:
- Bridgetown Market
- Last Canes—A ceremony where the harvest is officially pronounced closed and the most productive male and female cane cutters of the season are crowned King and Queen respectively.
- Cohobblopot—The word ‘cohobblopot’ is a colloquial expression meaning ‘a stew of a variety of ingredients’, and as it is implied, the event Cohobblopot is a potpourri of local cultural elements, from dance to calypso and soca music to a display of Kadooment costumes. Dazzling and elaborate regalia, some over 20 feet high, are paraded on stage in a contest for the King and Queen of the Band.
- Grand Kadooment—A summer street carnival, filled with people consumed with “festival fever”, dancing to Caribbean soca music and wearing spectacular, multi-colored costumes and body paint. It’s the climax of the Crop Over festival.
- Kiddies Kadoomen
Other Sources:
Blogs:
- Crop Over Carnival Blog
http://cropovercarnival.com/ - Barbados Crop Over Summer Festival (My Barbados Blog, posted on Posted on Thursday, May 25, 2006 by Linda Thompkins)
http://barbadostravel.squarespace.com/journal/2006/5/25/barbados-crop-over-summer-festival.html
Articles and Reviews:
- Honeyswooning over PSV & Barbados (Washington Life Magazine, February 2006)
http://www.washingtonlife.com/issues/february_2006/travel/ - Celebrating Carnival in the Caribbean. By Lisa Mullins Bishop (Caribbean Edge, 2005)
http://www.caribbeanedge.com/activities/carnival/
Visual resources:
- Grand Kadooment, 2005 (National Stadium - Spring Garden, Aug 1, 2005)
http://www.justbajan.com/cropover/2005/kadooment/index.htm - AT&TRayside Construction Grand Kadooment (National Stadium - Spring Garden, Aug 2, 2004)
- Grand Kadooment, 2003 (National Stadium to Spring Garden, Aug 4, 2003)
http://www.justbajan.com/cropover/2003/kadooment/index.htm
Practical Info:
Venues:
- Central Bank, Bridgetown, St.Michael
- Dove Conference Centre, Country Road, St Michael
- National Stadium, St Michael
- Speightstown Esplanade, St Peter
- The East Coast Road (The Ermy Bourne Highway), St Andrew
Tickets:
- Online
http://cropover.ncf.bb/
How to get there:
By Air: Grantley Adams International Airport
Grantley Adams International Airport, the only Barbados airport on the island, is located on the south coast of Barbados in the Christ Church parish. The Barbados airport is a modern facility, efficient and well connected to the rest of the world. Many international carriers fly in and out of the Barbados airport, including Air Canada, American Airlines, British Airways, and US Airways. Though flying times to Barbados airport vary, flights across the Atlantic and from the westernmost cities of North America usually include a stop. The Barbados airport is also one of the major hubs in the Eastern Caribbean, often acting as a connecting point to other island airports. Local airlines with flights into the Barbados airport include BWIA, LIAT, and Trans Island Air.- From the Barbados airport taxis are widely available and will take between 15-45 minutes to reach the island’s major resort areas on the southern and western coasts.
Booking airline tickets:
- Barbados Airport: Grantley Adams International Airport: (246) 428 7101
- BWIA: (246) 426-2111
- LIAT: (246) 434-5428
- Trans Island Air: (246) 418-1654
Tourism:
- Barbados Tourism Authority’s home
http://www.visitbarbados.org - http://www.kadooment.com/ —”as Bajan as it gets”—ultimate guide to entertainment, recreation and vacation in the Caribbean island of Barbados.
- National Cultural Foundation
http://www.ncf.bb
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