Commemorating the first English settlement in Barbados in 1627, the Holetown Festival is a week-long event showcasing Bajan arts and crafts as well as celebrating history and culture through public talks and photographic exhibitions.

Fair & concerts

The road through Holetown is taken over by a street fair, tuk bands – three musicians playing bass and kettle drums and a penny whistle (pictured above, in Bridgetown) – stilt walkers, parades, a fun run (or walk, if you prefer) and a host of other activities. There are nightly free open-air concerts too featuring a cocktail of sounds from steel pan to calypso, gospel to soca, as local groups and big-name artists and DJs take to the stage, plus there’s the inevitable karaoke.

Grand Floodlit Tattoo