Barbados 

 

Crop Over’s roots as a harvest festival run as deep as the sugarcanes themselves. At one time, Barbados was the world’s most important producer of sugar, a form of granulated white gold. Plantations hosted annual harvest celebrations dating back to the 18th century, which included singing, dancing and all manner of improvised instruments typical of Caribbean music . Much like a carnival of feast or famine, wages were good during the harvest, but post-harvest it was time to save up, so everyone might as well have one last good party. When the festival was revived in the 20th century by the Barbados Tourism Authority , it borrowed elements of the neighboring Trinidad Carnival, a more ornate and bawdy event. The influence remained, and the modern version of Crop Over was born. The festival was canceled in the 1940s when the sugar industry waned sufficiently in the wake of World War II, but has been running nonstop since 1974 as a wild, costumed event that feels like a compressed Brazilian Carnival with a distinctly island vibe.

Calypso music scores the entire event, which runs for 24 days every summer. Starting on the second Saturday in July, the festival begins with a colorful parade in Bridgetown, the chilled-out capital of Barbados. Floats, carnival bands, bicycles and decorated carts cruise through town, ending up at the National Stadium just outside of town, where an opening gala takes place. A sugarcane king and queen of the festival are crowned; traditionally, they are the most productive sugar croppers of the season. A ceremonial sugarcane baton is passed, representing the last of the harvest—and then the real partying begins.