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Steve Pope visits Barbados’ biggest festival and discovers why it pulls in visitors from around the world

One of the first Caribbean islands to see the money earning potential of tourism, Barbados has long been established as a popular luxury holiday destination for Britons.

Last year 250,000 holidayed on the island which is about the same number as the islands entire population. These days the island, which was once only affordable, to well-off visitors, has come into the brouchers of popular package holiday companies.

While some may argue that Barbados has become overly commercialised and has lost some of its ‘old worlde’ Caribbean charm, the reality is that the island is as culturally rich and as ‘real’ as any other of the Caribbean’s many nations.

This sense of cultural pride is no more evident that in the annual Crop Over festival. Originating in the days of plantation society, Crop Over was renewed in the 1970s and since 1982 has been managed by the National Cultural Foundation (NCF).

According to my Crop Over guide, tradition has it that as the ‘last procession of decorated carts made their way into the mill yard, a labourer would beat a make shift gong announcing the ‘Crop Over’.

‘The very last cart carried ‘Mr Harding’ an effigy made of cane trash stuffed into an old pair of trousers and coat, with a top hat on its head. Mr. Harding symbolized that period between sugar crops, when employment was difficult to obtain and money was scarce’.

The festival has played an important part in building Bajan cultural awareness and has been important in keeping the calypso tradition alive. Along with Trinidad, Barbados is seen as one of the most important islands for the culture of calypso.

Crop Over has also become an important draw for tourism to the island and the three month long festival climaxes with the spectacular Kadooment Day parade at the end of August. It’s Barbados’s answer to the St Lucia, Antigua, or Trinidad carnivals and while it may not match the scale of the Trinidad event, the crowds and participants are as enthusiastic and out to have fun as any you’ll meet at other carnivals.

Having been born in Barbados and emigrated to Britain as a child in the 1960s, it’s always been something of an ambition to get and see Crop Over. Despite been back to Barbados a few times since my arrival in Britain, my trips have always been outside of the three month June to August period.

Well, they saw that all good things come to those who wait and my long anticipated taste of Crop Over was worth waiting for. The name comes from the celebration of the end of the island’s sugar cane harvest and starts in June with the delivery of the last cut canes carried on the back of a highly decorated donkey.

Other highlights of the 90 days of festivities include Cohobblopot where carnival kings and queens battle it out for the Crop Over title. The Pic-o-de-Crop is a popular calypso singing competition which this year featured artists from ages 8 to 70+. The burning of ‘Mr Harding’ signifies the ends of the festivities.

Anyone planning a trip to Barbados would be advised to try and build in the Crop Over season as a reason for visiting. Not only will you meet people from across the globe but it an opportunity to get to chat to locals en masse and when some of the legendary Bajan reserve has been lifted.

In between the Crop Over festivities there are of course many activities and attractions to take in during a visit to the island. Barbados’s beaches are superb and are plentiful enough to mean that you don’t have to have to feel like you’re packed in like the Costa Del Sol.

From the calm waters of St James on the west coast to the stunning and rugged coastline of Bathsheba on the east, Barbados has beaches to suit every taste.

When you fancy a change from beach life, there are plenty of inland attractions to keep you occupied during a holiday break. The Barbados Wildlife Reserve to the north has an diverse mix of animals and may be the only place you’ll see dear, monkeys, and turtles coming together to grab a slice of fruit at the communal animal feeding station.

Hiring a car for a few days is highly recommended and enables you to get out into the countryside where Barbados has barely changed from when I was a boy on the island four decades ago. While the landscape is fairly flat and lacking in mountains, the countryside is still stunningly beautiful and away from the traffic of the capital Bridgetown you can forget that this is a relatively highly populated island.

The pace of life is very relaxed and driving doesn’t present any real challenges to those used to the more frenetic pace of the UK. Having a car for a few days enabled me to cover quite a lot of ground and going from trendy west coast restaurants to deserted country roads in 20 minutes was made a whole lot easier thanks to my hire car.

A morning spent at the beautiful Huntes Gardens was a very relaxing way to spend a few hours and the very amiable Anthony Hunte, who built the house and gardens, was the perfect host. Set in the countryside of St Joseph, Huntes is one of the lesser-known attractions on the island, but one that is definitely worth a visit.

In the evening St Lawrence Gap in Christ Church is the place to be for restaurants and bars. If you fancy something less touristy then the bars of Bridgetown will bring you into contact with mainly locals.

Being a Bajan I have to accept that there is going to be a degree of bias, but having visited so many of the other Caribbean islands I still feel that Barbados offers that almost perfect mix of culture, and creature comforts. I don’t think that too many other islands of its size can quite manage that same trip, lovely as they all are. Add in the Crop Over festivities and you have the perfect reason to pay a visit to the coral isle the call ‘The Rock’.

Published: 23 November 2009
Issue: 1399

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