All the gaiety, colour and excitement of Crop-Over was personified by Bajan folk character Mother Sally (portrayed by Marsha Hunte) last Friday night at the official launch of the 2004 Crop-Over Festival, held at the car park of the National Cultural Foundation.

A 20 -piece tuk orchestra played folk songs and calypsos, along with other colourful folk characters such as stiltmen and shaggy bears and a number of popular calypsonians got the Banks/Cable&Wireless Cavalcades off to a successful start.

Compliments of the Nation News

For five weeks every summer Barbados celebrates Crop Over, an exciting and vibrant extravaganza of music and masquerade, history and culture to mark the end of the sugar cane cutting season.

Let me start by congratulating the winners of this year’s calypso competitions, and like Ken Clarke of the Super Gladiators tent, I am pleased that there were “no hat tricks” this year. The possibility of one hat trick was ruled out fairly early in the season when Red Plastic Bag announced that he would be sitting out the Pic-O-De-Crop contest, and Li’l Rick’s music was totally disappointing this year. < Read more >

Four years after his last victory at the Ermy Bourne Highway, Edwin staged a dramatic “Invasion” complete with paratroops and “gunfire” and wrested the Party Monarch title from Lil Rick. However, Edwin’s fifth overall victory did not go down very well with the audience, who seemed to favour Lil Rick and Timmy, who mesmerized the audience with equally strong presentations. < Read more >

Today calypso is an integral part of the Crop Over festival, with thePic-O-De-Crop Calypso Monarch Competition being one of the most popular events. During the Crop Over season, numerous calypso tents perform several times weekly and performers compete for a place in the Calypso Monarch finals.

The enthusiasm of Barbados' young calypsonians ensures that the future of calypso in Barbados is secure. The Junior Calypso Monarch competition, serves as an excellent training ground for the calypsonians of the future.

This is a truly unique Barbadian celebration Created from the marriage of the English Harvest Festival and the West African Yam Festival, Crop Over is a coming together of these two great cultures

AT&T Wireless has stepped into the “Zone” with the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation as title sponsor of CBC’s popular festival showcasing the songs, sights and activities of Crop Over.

During a press conference yesterday at CBC headquarters in the Pine, CBC General Manager Allyson Leacock and AT&T Wireless General Manager Kim Whitehead jointly announced what Leacock described as a “major partnership”.

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The Cave Shepherd All Stars calypso tent got its 2004 programme off to a night of mainly solid performances and a few stutters at the Plantation Garden Theatre, Sunday.

Tara immediately caught the eye as much for her appearance as for her two commendable renditions of Fuh Truth and Bajan Woman.

The former dealt with parents who are often blind to the telltale signs that their children might be involved in illegal or immoral activities. She received a well deserved encore for her efforts.

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Music of the Islands

Caribbean Holidays

Festival origins can be traced back to the 1780's, when Barbados was the one of the world's foremost producers of sugar. When the Barbados sugar industry declined, the Crop Over festival suffered and in the 1940's stopped completely. But in 1974 the festival was revived to attract tourists to the island in the traditionally "slow season".

Other aspects of Barbadian culture were added to create the spectacle that exists today. Calypso music for example, is now inextricably linked with the festival. Crop Over has become an event that attracts thousands of people from across the globe.

"More than a carnival, sweet fuh days"

Street jump -ups with tuk-music and stilt walking, vendors with a fantastic selection of food and drink, calypso tents offering a great evening's entertainment: in short ... plenty of fun for all!

Click and enjoy the Crop Over opening gala 2003 and follow the carnival and jump with Baje International

Extracts compliments of the NCF

Visit other Barbados festivals: Congaline, NIFCA

I HAVE recently been reading and hearing reports of the piracy issues surrounding Crop Over. I appreciate that piracy is everywhere but surely the Government can do something to support and protect the hard-working artists whose livelihood this affects. As far as I am aware very little is done to those caught selling pirated music and to deter these people from doing it. < Read more>

The Barbados Association of Tent Managers (BATMAN) has expressed its support for the stated objectives of the Concerned Entertainment Group as it relates to the issue of music piracy. < Read more >

LAST Crop Over season Ian Webster asked the question whether Barbados was becoming “a nation of shows” based on the high number of shows that took place between 2002 and 2003. Given the packed entertainment calendar this year, particularly over the past few weeks, it would seem as though the answer to his question is a resounding “yes.” < Read more >

BARBADOS