Holetown Festival
Holetown Festival, the brainchild of late cultural icon and well-known Barbadian, Alfred Pragnall, commemorates the historic event of Barbados becoming a British colony with the landing of 80 English settlers and 10 African slaves, captured en route to Barbados at what is now called Holetown. The first festival was held in 1977 and has continued annually, first on the weekend in February closest to the dates when the settlers first landed - between February 17 and 20 - and more recently over an 8 day period around those dates in 1627, both starting and ending on a Sunday. Music is a large part of the event with free open-air concerts - everything from gospel and classical to indigenous tuk band music and calypso, a parade including vintage vehicles, displays by the Royal Barbados Police Force and Barbados Defence Force and an arts & craft exhibition. Saturday is a great day to go, as vendor stalls line the streets selling everything from plants to jewelry, and delicious local delicacies. Learn more about the festival and its history at www.holetownfestival.org. Photography by Alison Ince.
