St. George’s, Grenada – Travelers looking to immerse themselves in rich folk tradition on their vacation should mark their calendars for the 4th Annual 2013 Carriacou Maroon and String Band Music Festival.
This three day celebration showcases Carriacou’s many cultural flavors and traditions that have been passed through generations for hundreds of years.
The Maroon celebration on Carriacou is defined as thanksgiving and offering prayers to the source of all life, production and prosperity. Its African origins are authentically depicted through the drumming, singing, eating of ‘smoke food’ and other rituals practiced by the Carriacouans.
The musical traditions that are highlighted throughout the Festival are evocative of the island’s European ancestry, and are a main source of entertainment at the social functions and at the Parang Festival held during Christmas. As Carriacouans say “Once you have experienced the Carriacou Maroon and String Band Music Festival, your life will never be the same!”
Dance to the pulsating drums and become one with the scintillating sounds of string band music from Carriacou’s popular musicians and bands from other Caribbean islands. Travelers will experience exhilarating and rapturous music.
The Festival kicks off Friday, April 26 at Six Roads Village, where visitors will experience a genuine maroon by the sharing and eating of “smoked foods” and the spirit of togetherness that is expressed through drums, songs and dance.
The second day of festivities lights up the Belair Park Heritage Village as some of the most stimulating and wondrous sounds can be heard by big drum nation dances, Shakespeare Mas, drumming and dance groups from Suriname and Venezuela and a string band concert featuring bands from Carriacou, Grenada, BVI and Cuba. Spend the final day of the Festival on Paradise Beach with an entire afternoon is dedicated to the smooth sounds of string band music.
Carriacou, known as the land of reefs, is the sister isle of Grenada and Petite Martinique. The people of Carriacou are the keepers of ancient traditions, historic folklore and spiritual beliefs rooted in African, European and indigenously Grenadian legends.
