26 July - 2 August
Paddles Up! Tour des Yoles, Martinique
Martinique’s Tour des Yoles is hotly anticipated. The week-long race starts and ends in Trinité, with teams sailing traditional canoes called yawls. Cheer on from the harbour in Fort-de-France and lap up the live music, merriment and ti punch.
• www.tourdesyoles.com

29 August
Power trip! The Carib Great Race, Trinidad and Tobago
First held in 1969, the competition sees powerboats from all over the world racing from Port of Spain in Trinidad to Crown Point in Tobago, a distance of 84 miles. The tides and currents between the two islands present a stiff test for the crews, as well as their boats. The front runners often break down in what is recognised as the toughest of the Caribbean powerboat races.
• www.gotrinidadandtobago.com

12 September
Life's a beach - Sizzlin' Beach Volleyball Tournament, Antigua
This event brings together the best players out of the Caribbean, USA, Canada, Central America and around the world. Its fun and excitement plus great beach volleyball on some of the best beaches in the Caribbean. And if that isn’t enough, there’s the bikini after-parties to go to.
• www.sizzlinsand.com

4 July - 3 August
Cutting edge - Crop Over, Barbados
The end of sugar cane season in Barbados is celebrated in style at Bridgetown’s Crop Over Festival. Watch the ceremonial delivery of the last sugar canes and limber up for addictive calypso dancing throughout the capital’s main streets. The annual event began in the 1780s when Barbados was the world’s largest sugar producer. The festivities kick off with the traditional crowning of the festival king and queen – the most productive male and female
cane cutters of the season.
• www.barbados.org/cropover.htm

30 July - 1 August
Slave to the rhythm - Cudjoe Head, Montserrat
Residents and visitors to Montserrat can take part in sporting competitions, listen to music and watch masquerade performances during the Cudjoe Head celebrations. The festival, which celebrates the island’s African ancestry, has somber origins, though. Cudjoe was a slave who ran away from his master in the 18th century. He was subsequently caught and lynched – his head being placed on a tree as a warning to other slaves.
• www.visitmontserrat.com

PLUS More important dates not to miss!
July 7-14    Gwo Ka Festival, Guadeloupe

July 10-19    Dive Fest, Dominica

July 11-Aug 1    Tobago Heritage Festival

July 11-18    Calabash Festival, Montserrat

July 12-19    Caribbean Games, Trinidad and Tobago

July 20-22     Grand Case Festival, St Martin

July 22-26    Cabarete Classic Windsurfing, Dominican Republic

July 24-Aug 4    Culturama, Nevis

July 25-Aug 4    Antigua Carnival, St John’s

July 24-26    Lifestyle Festival, St Thomas and St Croix

July 24-27    Merengue Festival, Santo Domingo, Dominica

July 26    Curaçao Day

July 26-Aug 1    Emancipation Celebrations, Dominica

July 29-Aug 2    Emancipation Celebrations, Trinidad and Tobago

July 26-29    Carriacou Regatta Festival, Grenada

July 29-Aug 2    Great Fete Weekend, Tobago

July 30-Aug 9    Anguilla Summer Festival

Aug 1    Emanacipation Day, St Lucia and Grenada

Aug 1-2    Muhtadi Drumming Festival, Tobago

AUG 4-28    Barbados Sports Camp

Aug 7-16    Tour de la Guadeloupe International Cycle Race

Aug 8     Caribbean and International Food Fair, Nevis

Aug 10-11    Grenada Carnival, St George’s

Aug 16    Restoration of the Republic, Dominican Republic

Aug 16-Sept 22    Banks International Hockey Festival, Barbados

Aug 31    Independence Day Parade, Trinidad and Tobago

Sept 4-5    Caribbean Sea Jazz Festival, Aruba   

Sept 16-29    Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival, Port of Spain

Sept 27-Oct 4    Club Med Food and Wine Festival, Dominican Rep

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