Schedule of Events for Crop Over 2007
Each year Barbados celebrates the end of the sugar cane season for another year with a series of events from May until the beginning of August. This tradition was started by the African slaves to mark the end of their hard labour cutting sugar cane, and they celebrated with song and dance, not much has changed and Barbados parties long and hard with lots of events focussed on music and dancing.
Listed below is the schedule of events for this years Crop Over Season 2007. Please also view our Barbados Calendar of Events for additional information which is updated on a daily basis for more accurate and detailed pieces of information about each event listed below.
Crop Over 2007 Event Calendar
Calavacades
The Crop Over Cavalcade goes to parishes across the island from May 18 until June 22. The hits of the Season are launched and put to the crowd. Good ole Bajan food is served, whilst the crowd are entertained at these outdoor events. There are a total of 11 Cavalcades and make an excellent start to the festival.
> May 18th, 2007 Calvacade in the NCF car park @ 7pm.
> May 19th, 2007 Calvacade at Bridgefield Playing Field, St. Thomas @ 7pm.
> May 25th, 2007 Calvacade at Checker Hall Playing Field, St. Lucy @ 7pm.
> May 26th, 2007 Calvacade Bathsheba Park, St. Joseph @ 7pm.
> June 1st, 2007 Calvacade at Speightstown Playing Field, St. Peter @ 7pm.
> June 2nd, 2007 Calvacade at Bellplaine Playing Field, St. Andrew @ 7pm.
> June 8th, 2007 Calvacade at Gall Hill Playing Field, St. John @ 7pm.
> June 9th, 2007 Calvacade at Silver Sands Park, Christ Church @ 7pm.
> June 15th, 2007 Calvacade at King George V Park, St. Phillip @ 7pm.
> June 16th, 2007 Calvacade at Glebe Playing Field, St. George @ 7pm.
> June 20th, 2007 Arts & Craft Synposium in the Meeting Room at the Barbados Central Bank at 8am.
> June 21st, 2007 Arts & Craft Synposium in the Meeting Room at the Barbados Central Bank at 8am.
> June 22nd, 2007 Calvacade at the National Stadium Car Park @ 7pm.
> June 24th, 2007 Junior Calypso Tent at Lester Vaughn School at 6pm.
> July 1st, 2007 Junior Calypso Tent at Lester Vaughn School at 6pm.
These two events encourage the next generation of performers and offer the opportunity to 18 youngsters to perform in front of a genuine audience.
> July 7th, 2007 Crop Over Opening Gala at Queens Park at 12pm.
The Crop Over Gala is representative of the festivals origins, with lots of tradition with the ritual of blessing of the last canes – and crowning of the victorious King and Queen of the Crop. It is a family event, with plenty to do and see, there are food stalls, fashion shows, activities for the children, a recap of the previous year’s musical hits and a street parade, the Opening Gala truly encapsulates the “more than a carnival” motif. To make a full day of this event this year it will start earlier at 12 noon.
> July 8th, 2007 Junior Calypso Monarch Semi-final at Sherbourne Conference Centre at 7pm.
> July 12th, 2007 Junior Monarch Lunch Concert at Frank Collymore Hall at 12pm.
> July 14th, 2007 Junior Calypso Monarch Finals at Sherbourne Conference Centre at 7pm.
The final stage for these young calypsonians and time to decide on a winner. A must see event for both the adults and a very exciting time for the children.
> July 15th, 2007 Visual Arts Exhibition at the Grand Salle, Barbados Central Bank at 6:30pm.
> July 18th, 2007 Pan in the Future Tense at Dover Beach Facility at 7pm.
> July 20th, 2007 Back In Time at Speightstown Esplanade at 6:30pm.
> July 21st, 2007 Pan in the City at Heroes Square at 12:30pm.
> July 22nd, 2007 Pan Pun De Sand at Brandon’s Beach at 2pm.
It wouldn’t be a festival anywhere in the region if there wasn’t just a touch of ‘pan’… and what better venue to enjoy the sweet strains of this Caribbean instrument than on the beach! Combining sun, sand and West Indian rhythms, patrons can look forward to the variety of sweet steel pan bands showcased in a non- competitive environment.
> July 26th, 2007 Folk Concert at Frank Collymore Hall at 7pm.
Folk Fest is a concert commemorating the 1937 riots, an event which marked a vital turning point in the island’s history. Reacting to the general feeling at the time of discontentment by the masses, activist Clement Payne urged the people to assert themselves. The Folk Fest concert demonstrated the history of Barbados from settlement to independence through poetry, dance and music, and features top local folk performers.
> July 27th, 2007 Pic-O-De-Crop Semi Finals at Garfield Sobers Gymnasium at 7pm.
Pic-O-De-Crop is the calypso competition during Crop Over, where contestants get marked on the power of their lyrics, rendition and originality as well as their presentation on the night. Calypsonians with good songs from the less popular tents or those who had less airplay for their songs had a greater chance to compete against the reigning Calypso monarch at the Pic-O-De-Crop Calypso final.
> July 28th, 2007 Junior Kadooment at the National Stadium at 10am.
> July 29th, 2007 Party Monarch Finals at the East Coast Road at 11am.
Ermie Bourne Highway Most Barbadians will converge on the East Coast Road during the massive party that is the Party Monarch Calypso competition. Held on a hillside of St. Andrew above the Ermie Bourne highway and overlooking the waves of the Atlantic, the party posse will no doubt explode in a frenzied fete of dancing and revelry. Calypso and Soca performers are sure not to disappoint as they wow the crowds with their energy, and compete for the Party Monarch crown.
> August 2nd, 2007 Music & Arts Exhibition an evening of interpretation, jazz & literary arts at the Grand Salle, Barbados Central Bank at 7:30pm.
> August 3rd, 2007 Pic-O-De-Crop Finals at the National Staium at 8pm.
One of the most popular events during Crop Over, the Finals of the Pic-O-De-Crop competition, will be a spectacle of tension and excitement at the National Stadium when ten finalists compete for the year’s Pic-O-De-Crop crown and top prizes. The competition is strongly supported by locals and is the climax of weeks of tent performances by the calypsonians, who each sing two songs before a panel of judges who award points based on lyrics, content, performance, melody and diction.
> August 4th, 2007 Fore Day Morning from Independence Square at 2am to Spring Garden Highway.
An early morning “Jump Up”, after the Pic-O-De-Crop competition, participants get covered in mud and party through the streets of Bridgetown to Spring Garden. With the “Jump Up” starting at 2 a.m., people usually do an “all nighter” and experience both events.
> August 4th, 2007 Bridgetown Market on the Spring Garden Highway from 10am.
Held on the Saturday and Sunday after the Pic-O-De-Crop finals, Bridgetown Market is a large street fair focused on local art and craft, talent, music, and cuisine. It was a wonderful opportunity to pick up unique, handmade souvenirs, and artwork and sample local delicacies.
> August 5th, 2007 Bridgetown Market on the Spring Garden Highway from 10am.
> August 5th, 2007 Cohobolopot at the National Stadium at 7pm.
The word ‘cohobblopot’ is a colloquial expression meaning ‘a stew of a variety of ingredients’, and as it is implied, the event Cohobblopot is a potpourri of local cultural elements, from dance to calypso and soca music to a display of Kadooment costumes. Dazzling and elaborate regalia, some over 20 feet high, are paraded on stage in a contest for the King and Queen of the Band.
> August 6th, 2007 Bridgetown Market on the Spring Garden Highway from 10am.
> August 6th, 2007 Grand Kadooment from the National Stadium at 9am to the Spring Garden Highway.
The culmination of the Crop Over Festival, Grand Kadooment is a spectacular daytime procession of costumed revellers partying from the National Stadium to Spring Garden highway. Each “band” (a group of masqueraders) is dressed in distinctive and elaborate costumes and “jumped up” to the beats of soca and calypso played from enormous sound systems on huge trucks. Members of the public who wished to “jump in Kadooment” choose from several costume bands, and costumes for women range from one piece to bikini style.
