The first Crop Over celebrations began on individual plantations to
mark the end of the sugar cane
harvests. The final loads of cane were brought into the mill
yards decorated with flowers. The last
carried an effigy of "Mr. Harding", representing the 'hard times' that
came between cane crops.
There would be food, music, and dancing. At the end of the evening
"Mr. Harding" would be
burned, in hopes that the time between crops would be less cruel.
The current Crop Over celebrations start near the end of June and finish
with Kadooment Day during
the first week of August. The festival includes the Party Monarch
contest, the Pic-O-De-Crop
Calypso Competition, the Emancipation Day Walk , the Bridgetown Market,
the Kadooment Day
Bands parading down to Spring Garden Highway and ends with fireworks
over the harbor.
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Winin is a dance style that can get much more suggestive. photos by M. Flanigan |