Crop Over: Crop Over, a five-week summer festival, is Barbados' most popular and colourful festival. It's origins can be traced back to the 1780's, a time when Barbados was the world's largest producer of sugar. At the end of the sugar season, there was always a huge celebration to mark the culmination of another successful sugar cane harvest - the Crop Over celebration.
As the sugar industry in Barbados declined, so too did the Crop Over festival and in the 1940's the festival was terminated completely. However, the festival was revived in 1974 and other elements of Barbadian culture were infused to make the extravaganza that exists today ..... an event that attracts thousands of people from across the globe.
Jazz Festival: The Premiere Jazz Festival of The Caribbean
The Barbados Jazz Festival, which celebrates the best in international and local jazz talent, has become a major annual Caribbean event.
The venues for the festival also reflect the diverse nature of the festival. The modern Sir Garfield Sobers gymnasium suits a large crowd. The open air Farley Hill National Park is ideal for a day of picnicking and jazz. The lovely Sunbury Plantation House is over 300 years old and steeped in history.
Thoroughbred Horse Racing: The racetrack in Barbados is at the Garrison Savannah which is less than two miles outside the capital Bridgetown. It has been the home of horse racing since the colonial days of 1845. The officers of the British Regiment who were stationed in Barbados, used what was then the parade ground to match their horses in races and the wealthy merchants and planters later joined them.
The Barbados Turf Club, which regulates and promotes horse racing in Barbados, was established in 1905 and organizes three (3) seasons of racing per year. These meetings run from January to April; May to August and from October to December.
The track is a 6 furlongs oval grass strip and races are run at distances of 5 furlongs (1000 meters); 5½ furlongs (1100 meters); 7.8 furlongs (1570 meters); 9 furlongs (1800 meters) and 10 furlongs (2000 meters), with the horses running in a clockwise (right handed) direction.
Golf:
Barbados is the golfer's paradise!
Barbados Golf Club:
This 6,805 yard par 72 championship golf course is the work of experienced golf course designer Ron Kirby.
Rockley Golf Club:
Par 70, 5610 yd course on Barbados' south coast. Testing all abilities of golfers, the course can be rewarding for the big hitter but cruel on the wayward aggressive shot.
Royal Westmoreland:
A members only golf club designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr.
Sandy Lane:
Choose from one of three courses - The Old Nine, the Country Club Course and the Green Monkey Course. The 2 latter courses were both designed by Tom Fazio.
Almond Beach Village:
9-hole par 3 course, more for hotel guest relaxation than a challenge for dedicated golfers.
Other Activities:
nature walks, jogging, clubbing, dancing, shopping
