Anguilla Celebrates Annual Summer Festival

AnguillaThe Caribbean island of Anguilla's Summer Festival will take place from Aug. 1-11, 2013.

The highlight of the week-long celebrations is J’Ouvert Morning on Aug. 5, which features the J’Ouvert Morning, dance festival. Attendees gather outside at 4:30 a.m. to begin the six-hour trek through the streets of the capital, The Valley, and make their way across the island to Sandy Ground.

Visitors at Road Bay will enjoy food, musical performances, including guest artist from Guadeloupe Admiral T, and the Grand August Monday Boat race.

“The Anguilla Summer Festival event is unique in the region because unlike many of our Caribbean neighbors whose celebrations are centered on nighttime activities, we feature our island’s national sport of traditional Boatracing, with custom-made sleek Anguillian boats by day and all the pageantry, music and calypso that defines a Caribbean carnival by night,” Anguilla’s Director of Tourism, Candis Niles said.

The boat racing series of races take place at various harbors and bays around the island. The Anguilla Summer Festival races will have teams compete for “The Champion of Champions” race on Aug. 11.

All Anguilla Summer Festival activities welcome visitors and Anguillians alike to participate in several activities like Band Clash. Held on Aug. 3, Anguilla’s local soca bands will compete in The Valley’s Landsome Bowl Center (LBCC), where each band performs an original test piece, this year being “Carnival Mass” by local past Calypso Monarch “King Springer” accompanied by the Mussingtons Band. The winning arrangement becomes a part of the Summer Festival’s history and is played at all of the beach parties, bars and throughout the parades during the festival, such as The Grand Parade of Troupes. The 17th annual Leeward Island Calypso Monarch Competition, sponsored by LIME.

For the complete summer festival lineup, visit www.iVisitAnguilla.com.