Showcasing to the world its deeply rooted and highly commemorated heritage and culture, the Emancipation Festival represents the BVI’s passion for its history and willingness for celebration. Accordingly, this year’s festival, the 70th of its kind, flourished under the theme ‘Celebrate our Freedom and Live in Unity’.
Across the two-week extravagance, both travellers and those who call BVI their home came together to celebrate the freedom of the islands’ ancestors – becoming a guiding light in the territory’s identity.
Amongst the animated list of celebrations is the Prince and Princess Pageant – a vibrant affair where 11 of the islands’ young children compete for the renowned title.
Next on the festival’s celebration map is the Fungi Festival. Despite the name, travellers won’t be tasting mushrooms but instead sampling the unique traditional folk music of the BVI. Emerging from the territory’s African roots, mixed with a sprinkling of European influence, its lively, carnivalesque sounds take listeners on a journey of percussion, woodwind, and string symphonies, accompanied by anecdotal lyrics that demonstrate the BVI’s way of life.
Meanwhile, over on the island of Tortola, the Carrot Bay fiesta gives visitors a glimpse of what the BVI was like over a hundred years ago, celebrating the many vibrant traditions of the island with a plethora of stalls and local produce, where many locals share their culture in a spritely market celebration.
With a long list of spectaculars spanning July and August, the Emancipation Festival stands out as a beacon of joy across the BVI.
