Barbados is known for hosting celebrities and international travellers during their annual Crop Over festival, and I was lucky enough to visit the island during this magical time! 

No wonder RiRi loves this place — it’s rich in culture and the parties were literally life changing. As a Black Canadian, my visit to Barbados brought the perfect mix of Black culture, celebration and reflection. 

Below, I share my recommendations for visiting Barbados during the Crop Over festival, and my general must-dos if you go at another time of year.

Visiting Barbados during Crop Over festival

First, if you don’t know what Crop Over is all about… listen! This is an old tradition dating back centuries, and had its early beginnings on the sugar cane plantations during slavery. Now, it's a celebration of Barbados' rich culture, and harvest. Crop Over celebrates the official end of the sugar cane season and is celebrated with a variety of parties and other festivities from dusk to dawn, arts and crafts markets, culinary-driven street fairs, and more. All speak to different parts of the history of Black people in Barbados. 

Foreday Morning Jam

Imagine marching around a track from 2 a.m. until the sun rises with hundreds of other people. Now imagine the party moves with you on trucks; from the bar to the bathrooms. Now, imagine everyone is throwing paint at each other and there are local performers on top of the trucks pumping up the crowd the whole time with Soca beats. This event is inspired by the parties slaves would have at night while the wealthy were sleeping.  

Mimosa party

Picture breakfast, but leveled up. This party is held on the Bellevue Plantation and invites everyone to dress their best. You can sample authentic Barbados cuisine, mingle with locals and enjoy an all-day concert. My favourite? The doubles; a common street food that includes two small flatbreads filled with curried chickpeas. (Confused? YES. Barbados had a huge British influence due to colonization). 

Grand Kadooment 

If Crop Over were a story, Grand Kadooment would be the climax. Locals and visitors gather together to parade down the streets in colourful attire — feathers, sequin and glitter included. Much like the Foreday Morning Jam, there’s also tons of dancing, moving trucks and moving bars.

While Crop Over season is June - August, the festivities reach their peak on Kadooment Day –– the first Monday of August –– which closes out the Crop Over Festival celebrations.

Visiting Barbados any other time! 

Overall, as a Black Canadian, I have never been surrounded by so many beautiful Black people in my life — literally. To look around and see so many other people who look like you, and to be a part of a majority, even if just on a small island, is a transformative and freeing experience in itself. 

I had a lot more of the island to explore, but here are a few hits I wouldn’t want you to miss. 

Oistins

This is a great little town on the coast that’s close enough to the action without being right in the center of it. If you stay near Oistins, you can enjoy the local fish market, visit a variety of bars and rum shops, and check out the local shopping mall that includes many local designers. 

The Gap

Also known as the Saint Lawrence Gap, this is one the most well known areas in Barbados and for good reason. This is the spot to be if you’re looking for nightlife and a diverse array of accommodations. Plus, it has calm, sandy-white beaches and plenty of different restaurants to check out — many of which are ocean front!

Mount Gay distillery 

Barbados is the birthplace of rum, and the Mount Gay distillery is the oldest, continuously running rum distillery in the world. Take in some history, and have some of the best drinks of your life, as you learn more about how sugarcane and rum are deeply embedded into the island’s way of life. 

Plantations

In the 18th century, Barbados had more than 600 plantations on the island. Now, there are just a handful of remaining plantations, and most allow tours. There’s nothing quite like standing on land where so much history took place.

Photo credit: CestLaVibe: https://cestlavibe.com/ten-barbados-travel-tips/