Island Mas - Crop Over

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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.

The festival begins with the
Ceremonial Delivery of the Last
Canes and the crowning of the King
and Queen of the Festival - the
most productive male and female
cane cutters of the season.

CROPOVER SAFETY
DO wear light, comfortable clothes
DO wear comfortable shoes, eg sneakers
DO carry ID with you at all times
DO try the local cuisine from the roadside
DO carry and use lots of sunscreen
DO drink lots of fluids
DO ask for assistance if you need it
DON’T flash large sums of cash
DON’T wear lots of expensive jewellery
DON’T walk in dark areas alone
In Fetes
DO walk with a waving implement (rag,
handkerchief, flag etc)
DO have a cell phone with you at all times, or
a local phone card
DO carry a condom just in case
DO make firm transportation arrangements
prior to going to the fete

In the Band
DO carry with you a pouch or little bag that
you can walk with, secured in a safe spot on
your person
Tylenol/Panadol/Advil or your painkiller of
choice