2023 Calendar of Festivals and Events Throughout the Caribbean
by Karen Rollins Feb 6, 2023
Here are some of the festivals and events currently scheduled to take place in the Caribbean in 2023:
January 2023
Event: Spice Island Billfish Tournament
Where: Grenada
Date: 23-27 January
Details: This popular annual fishing event has been the leading billfish tournament in the region since 1964.
Event: Bequia Music Festival
Where: Bequia (St Vincent and the Grenadines)
Date: 25-29 January
Details: Started in January 2000, the Bequia Music Festival features six live music events taking place at three different venues.
February
Event: Trinidad Carnival
Where: Trinidad and Tobago
Date: 15-22 February
Details: Trinidad and Tobago’s Carnival is known for its vibrant colours, pulsating music, flavourful food, and high-energy performances. Several Soca parties and fetes take place in the lead up to Carnival Monday and Tuesday.
Event: Ponce Carnival
Where: Puerto Rico
Date: 18-21 February (subject to change)
Details: Puerto Rico’s annual week-long celebration features parades with decorated floats, extravagant costumes, pulsating music, and lots of fun!
Event: Mas Domnik
Where: Dominica
Date: 20-21 February
Details: Dubbed ‘The Real Mas’, Mas Domnik is a colourful recognition of the country’s African and French traditional roots expressed through music, art, and dance
Event: Mashramani
Where: Guyana
Date: 23 February
Details: Observed on Guyana’s Republic Day, Mashramani (aka Mash) is an annual cultural celebration of the country’s Amerindian roots. The word Mashramani literally means “the celebration of a job well done”.
April
Event: Jamaica Carnival
Where: Jamaica
Date: 12-18 April
Details: Jamaica’s annual carnival includes weeks of events in Ocho Rios and Montego Bay before culminating with the ultimate street party in Kingston.
Event: The Barbados Reggae Festival
Where: Barbados
Date: 28 April-1 May
Details: The Barbados Reggae Festival usually attracts music fans from all over the Caribbean and the world with an average audience of 25,000 across four entertaining events.
May
Event: St Lucia Jazz Festival
Where: St Lucia
Date: 5-14 May
Details: Known as the premier jazz festival in the Caribbean, the St Lucia Jazz Festival features open-air concerts, music masterclasses and workshops at various intimate venues.
Event: Grenada Chocolate Festival
Where: Grenada
Date: 17-21 May
Details: Grenada’s chocolate fest is one of the island’s most eagerly awaited events. It features chocolate tasting at several cocoa estates and provides a unique insight into the island’s impressive history of cocoa production.
June
Event: Pineapple Festival
Where: Bahamas (Eleuthera)
Date: 2-3 June
Details: According to the official website, the Bahamas Pineapple Festival is “a celebration and appreciation to all of the farmers who work and toil so hard to harvest our sweet, juicy, delicious pineapple every year, despite the odds.”
Event: Pure Grenada Music Festival
Where: Grenada
Date: Exact dates TBA
Details: The Grenada Music Festival is three nights of excitement celebrating international, regional, and local musicians.
July
Event: VincyMas
Where: St Vincent and the Grenadines
Date: 30 June-11 July
Details: Vincy Mas starts in June and culminates over the first or second Monday and Tuesday in July. The annual event involves street parties, steel pan performances, and costume parades and is a vibrant celebration of Vincentian history.
Event: St Lucia Carnival
Where: St Lucia
Date: 1-19 July
Details: St Lucia’s ‘nothing sweeter than that’ street party is bold, bright, and exciting. The full calendar of events includes major events such as Calypso and Soca Monarch competitions, King and Queen of the Bands, Panorama, and J’ouvert.
August
Event: Grand Kadooment Day (the culmination of the Crop Over Festival)
Where: Barbados
Date: 7 August
Details: Grand Kadooment Day is the colourful climax of Barbados’ Crop Over festival. Masquerade bands make their way down the Mighty Grynner Highway with revellers dancing behind while adorned in feathered and sequined costumes.
Event: Antigua Carnival
Where: Antigua and Barbuda
Date: 7-8 August
Details: Antigua’s carnival has come a long way since it was first staged in August 1957. It now features weeks of activities including an opening day parade, pageants, calypso competitions, and several fetes before culminating in August.
Event: Spicemas
Where: Grenada
Date: 1-15 August
Details: Grenada’s premier cultural event typically runs from the second weekend in July until the second Tuesday in August. Partygoers can expect a colourful celebration with performances and parades from calypsonians, steel pan orchestras, and ‘fancy mas’ bands.
October
Event: World Creole Music Festival
Where: Dominica
Date: TBA
Details: Dominica’s World Creole Music Festival celebrates an array of musical genres with roots in various Creole-speaking countries and communities including Cadence-lypso, Afro beat, Calypso, Reggae, Kompa, and Zouk.
Event: Barbados Food and Rum Festival
Where: Barbados
Dates: TBA
Details: This prestigious foodie event, which underscores Barbados’ title as the culinary capital of the Caribbean, sees sumptuous dishes from local, regional, and international chefs served up at amazing venues, alongside one of the island’s oldest exports – rum!
November
Event: Pirates Week Festival
Where: The Cayman Islands
Dates: 3-5 November (Little Cayman), 9-19 November (Grand Cayman), 24-26 November (Cayman Brac)
Details: Every November, the Cayman Islands hosts its Pirates Week Festival to celebrate the country’s pirate heritage in a spectacular way. Spectators and participants can expect party nights, costume contests, cultural and heritage competitions, a float parade, and fireworks.
December
Event: Run Barbados Marathon Weekend
Where: Barbados
Date: 9-10 December
Details: This popular annual event usually attracts competitors from home and abroad for a weekend of races including a 3km walk, 5km walk and run, a 10km race, a half-marathon, and a marathon.
Event: Nine Mornings Festival
Where: St Vincent and the Grenadines
Date: 16-24 December
Details: This traditional event, which began in 1913, is unique to St Vincent and the Grenadines. It features creole dances/fetes, street parades, concerts, carolling, bike riding, boom drum bands, and early morning sea baths. All staged in the run-up to Christmas Day.
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Keep checking FindYello.com throughout the year for more information on these and many more exciting events taking place in the Caribbean.