By NAN Staff Writer
News Americas, BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Tues. Mar. 15, 2022: After a two-year hiatus,Crop Over is returning to Barbados this year.
The island’s largest annual festival is set officially for Fri, Jul 29, 2022 – Wed, Aug 3, 2022. The Crop Over Festival is Barbados’ most popular, most colorful and most anticipated event that attracts thousands of visitors from across the globe who come to enjoy Barbadian heritage, culture, music, food and dance. Crop Over is a traditional harvest festival which began in Barbados, having had its early beginnings on the sugar cane plantations during slavery
Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley announced that Barbados will have a modified Crop Over for 2022. Visitors and Barbadians alike will enjoy the festival this year in a safe way Grand Kadooment and Fore Day Morning will be decentralized through at least eight venues.
“And it means that those persons who will attend those decentralized venues will have to adhere to the same rules that persons attending fetes will adhere to over the course of the next few months. We are happy for this because we know that after two years of no Crop Over and no release, people are more than waiting for this opportunity,” she said.
Mottley said it is believed that once the eight venues are properly fenced and with the new COVID protocols announced, all Barbadians living abroad and visitors looking forward to a 2022 Crop Over.
However, Mottley made it clear that while permission for entertainment events must still be channeled through the National Cultural Foundation (NCF) and the COVID-19 Monitoring Unit and the number of people allowed to attend an event will still depend on the size of the venue, and its ability to allow patrons who are fully vaccinated or show evidence of a negative COVID-19 test result, and to adhere to the three foot distancing requirement.
Crop Over culminates with Grand Kadooment, held the first Monday in August. Costumed revelers parade through the streets from morning until evening, including in the past, celebrities like Sir Lewis Hamilton, Jordan Dunn and Rihanna.
Barbados is now accepting Rapid Antigen Tests for entry into the country and there’s no quarantine period for fully vaccinated travelers with valid negative tests.
Rapid Antigen Tests to enter Barbados must be administered by a healthcare provider no more than one day prior to arrival in Barbados. Along with Rapid Antigen Tests, COVID PCR tests taken no more than three days prior to arrival in Barbados are also on the list of approved tests for entry into the country.
