TRAVEL : Celtic Festival Barbados, a music & food festival fusing the best of Barbados and Celtic
Mention the Celtic Festival Barbados to anyone and their eyes light up as they’ve already bought into the conversation at the mention of Barbados.
THE CELTIC FESTIVAL BARBADOS
THE HISTORY OF THE FESTIVAL
For me Barbados conjures up images of blue skies and clear blue seas, of palm trees, coconuts and rum. You’d be spot on if you thought this too, but Barbados has so much more to offer and it’s links with Scotland are strong.
The Celtic Festival in Barbados was started in 1996 when Welsh woman Ruth Williams brought over her dad’s choir from Wales to perform at the Frank Collymore Hall in Bridgetown.
It continued to grow and is now an annual festival involving Celts from across the world – Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Nova Scotia Canada performing with local musicians in Barbados.
In 2011, Carol Anderson from Edinburgh took over the reins and I met up with her to have a chat about the festival – its past, what to expect this year and the future of the festival.
MUSIC AND FOOD AT THE FESTIVAL - WHAT TO EXPECT
The Celtic Festival Barbados is predominantly a music festival which features the best of traditional folk music connecting those with Celtic heritage. Over the years, headline acts such as Eddi Reader, Peatbog Faeries, John McCusker, Heidi Talbot, Sandra Macbeth and bagpipe maker Hamish Moore have all performed on the balmy island. And most recently it has attracted a number of pipers and drummers to create a spectacular parade through town together with the local defence force bands. Over the years, the festival has incorporated food into its programme. This music and culinary festival is steeped in history, culture and tradition and nothing brings people together like music and food.
Award-winning Edinburgh Chef Paul Wedgwood from Wedgwood Restaurant on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, has been the guest chef at the festival. Creating some traditional Scottish fayre and cooking alongside some of the best culinary talent in Barbados. For the Celtic Festival this year they are hoping to showcase the making of Scottish Shortbread but have also highlighted Dundee Cake and created a truly Bajan haggis using the local black belly sheep as the main ingredient. .
This years foodie highlights include Dine Around – themed Rum Dinners in participating restaurants; street food stalls and food trucks galore at the street parade and the dinner at Atlantis Hotel (well known for its Sunday Lunch buffet) serving Celtic Bajan fusion dishes as one of the closing events on the last day.
FOODIE ADVENTURES
There will be other foodie events happening too, that occur on a weekly basis and will naturally be part of the festival. Two great culinary outings to attend are :
1. Friday nights - take a trip along the south coast to Oistin’s and enjoy snacking on grilled and fried fish which comes fresh from the sea and the fish market next door – it’s a huge range of fish stalls with different chefs and lots of loud music, popular with the locals and visitors alike.
2. Harbour Lights Nighclub – On Mondays and Wednesday this Beach extravaganza Dinner Show will blow you away with an open bar, BBQ dinner and amazing entertainment showcasing the history of Barbados through music and song then afterwards party with the locals until the wee small hours.
INVESTING IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY
The festival is a merging of cultures and Carol likes to encourage participation from across the globe but also invest in the local communities and one event that epitomises this is the St Patricks School Concert where the local school children who have participated in the concerts programme across the island, gather at St Patricks Cathedral to sing Scottish songs learned from visiting musicians at the festival.
On the Saturday afternoon, individual pipers and drummers, mini bands and full pipe bands visiting for the festival are invited to create a Big Band which marches through Bridgetown with the local defence brass bands. They head for Hastings Rock at the Boardwalk and Blakeys Rum Shop. These two events are part of the widening participation arm of the festival, introducing local schools to the pipes as well as Scottish and Gaelic culture through song and dance. Add to this their own traditions and culture, and you bring about wonderful songs and a beat that dances to the rhythm of the nation.
The Celtic Festival Barbados is set to grow, not only in numbers of participants but also local and visitor attendance at their events. Do keep your eyes peeled for a very exciting Celtic Festival Barbados event in Edinburgh later this year where Carol hopes to bring a flavour of Barbados to our capital.
There is so much to see and do in Barbados not only for the festival but also on a daily basis. The festival is over 6 days, 19th-24th May 2020, with a wonderful mix of musical and culinary events, but the magic of this festival is that you can dip in and out of the festival and mix it up with other activities the island has to offer.
Mount Gay Rum Distillery - image taken from their Facebook page
ISLAND ACTIVITIES
Some activities worth checking out are:
1. Visit Mount Gay Rum Distillery
2. Take an Island Safari Tour with Island Safari
3. Take a trip out to sea on a luxury catamaran with Cool Runnings. (this is part of the festival too).
4. Visit Harrison’s Cave
The Celtic Festival Barbados is a truly magical experience where the whole island beats to the sounds of drums and hums to the sounds of the pipes for a week. Mass pipes and drums include Windsor Police Pipe Band from Ontario Canada, Reading Scottish Pipe Band and the Barbados Defence Force band but you’ll also watch and listen to some of the best folk music on the planet, dancers, bagpipers and fiddlers like Riddle Fiddles from the Scottish Borders (the headline bands for the main stage will be announced soon).
People come from all over to participate or be a spectator and as 2020 is all about homecoming – We Gatherin’ 2020 – Barbados is throwing open its arms to welcome Bajans back to their home country from overseas countries. In Carol’s experience, if you visit Barbados more than 3 times, airport passport control say ‘welcome home’ and this is highly likely to happen as 43% of visitors are repeat visitors just confirming what a wonderful welcoming tropical paradise this island is!
The colours of Barbados - image taken from VisitBarbados Facebook page
HOW TO GET THERE
For a full line up of the Celtic Festival Barbados visit – www.barbadoscelticfestival.com
For more information on what to do on the island visit – www.visitbarbados.org
For more information on the Scottish Bajan link read my blog post - www.tartanspoon.co.uk/home/visit-the-island-of-barbados
Here are some great deals from our friends at Hays Travel Edinburgh - 0131 516 9736. All flights are direct from London Gatwick to Barbados.
· 10 nights departing on the 18th May. Flights and Angler Apartments £850 per person
· 9 nights departing on the 18th May. Flights and 3* Worthing Court Apartment Hotel £899
· 7 nights all inclusive at the Sugar Bay Barbados £1550