Barbuda’s Caribana kicked off yesterday with an opening parade and t-shirt mas’ through the streets of Codrington.
Under the theme ‘Culture, Heritage, Revelry, Barbuda’s Caribana 2023’, this year’s celebrations will feature a week of events ending on Monday.
Ruperta Beazer, a member of the Caribana Organising Committee, outlined the schedule on Observer AM yesterday.
Tonight at 8pm, four contestants will vie for the crown in the Miss Barbuda Queen Show at Caribana City, while on Saturday the Beach Bash and Fishing Tournament will get underway at the Martello Tower. Prizes for the tournament will be awarded in categories including ‘biggest fish’ ‘most barracuda’ and ‘most weight’.
Later, at 9pm, the All-Star Show will feature entertainment from well-known artists, including Tian Winter, Claudette Peters and Edwin Yearwood. In addition to this, there will be cameo performances by the calypso and soca artists set to perform on Sunday.
Sunday is the Caribana Classic Horse Race at Coronation Park. The gates will open at noon, and the first of seven races will start at 2pm. At 8pm, five individuals will seek to capture the Calypso Monarch title. Immediately after that competition, eight other musicians will vie for the Party Monarch crown.
The final day of the festivities, Monday, will feature J’ouvert morning celebrations through the streets of Codrington with the Kaution Band. This event starts at 4am and ends at 10am. Closing the celebrations, will be the Last Lap festivities starting at Madison Square, Caribana City, from 7-11pm.
This year’s Caribana will be the first to feature the full list of activities since the Covid-19 pandemic, and as she invited persons to experience the festivities planned, Beazer said, “I would like to take this opportunity to invite everyone to come on over. Experience what Caribana has to offer and it will leave you wanting more.”