The festival started bright and early at 5 am with the 'Tramps'( parade participants follow a truck blasting music from over the top speakers down the streets of the town i.e a pre parade party on wheels). The official parade didn't start until 3pm as locals caught some shut eye and recovered from a heavy morning of 'Tramping'.
As we walked through the town towards the judging booth, we were in awe of the colours, sounds and the amount of effort that goes in to making such an event happen every year. If ever you get the chance we strongly recommend you take it, it's a sight you won't see anywhere else... except maybe Rio.
Acts included Miss BVI, stilt walkers, floats re-enacting the capture of slaves and of course dancers wearing every colour under the sun. The parade lasted for several hours as each group passed the booth performing their routines full of energy and enthusiasm despite the sweltering conditions, everyone young and old performed with an infectious smile.
 |
| Being towered over by the very skillful skydancers. |
The parade ended in 'The Village', a car park annually converted into the hub of the festival. In the centre, a pole huge pole connects all the food and drink huts together with colourful bunting. At one of these huts we tried a local roti dish, which is essentially a curry in a wrap however it takes a great deal of effort and skill to eat. Everyone from the Island seemed to be standing in this car park, from babies to the elderly, everyone was in high spirits, dancing to the local music being performed on stage into the early hours.
It was an amazing experience and are very grateful that we had the opportunity to witness this part of the local culture. Tomorrow we head back to Anegada on the 6:45am ferry and plan to get back into the swing of things by having a total station set up race to finally settle the all important question...
Who is the best at setting up a total station?
No comments:
Post a Comment