St Lucia Events 2008

St. Lucia always has something to celebrate. From the Food + Rum Festival to the annual St. Lucia Jazz Festival to various golf and cricket tournaments there's always fun to be found on St. Lucia. Below is a comprehensive list of activities and events for the 2008 year. However, please keep in mind not all events can be listed as new activities are added often.

April, 2008

15 Vivian Richards Golf Tournament
This is a tournament between former cricket players and commentators.

22 International Earth Day
Earth Day begins with the Soleil Lévé (sunrise) ceremony and ends with the Soleil Couché (sunset) ceremony. Call the St. Lucia National Trust at (758)452-5005 to be a part of this activity.

May, 2008

The month of May is fast approaching and St. Lucia continues to draw attention to the whole world through this celebration of jazz music. In 1999, the St. Lucia Jazz took on a new dimension with the addition of more side attractions, i.e. other jazz performances aside from main stage events. These additions have been affectionately called "The Fringe Activities". This created a more festive atmosphere and allowed the local St. Lucian public and visitors to participate in these events free-of-charge. St. Lucia Jazz also extends to the South of the island with shows being held in the village of Laborie and the towns of Vieux Fort and Soufriere. All of this goes toward making the St. Lucia Jazz a truly St. Lucian experience for visitors and locals alike.

1 Labor Day
Labor Day is an annual holiday celebrated all over the world that resulted from efforts of the labor union movement, to celebrate the economic and social achievements of workers.

2 – 11 St. Lucia Jazz
St. Lucia Jazz has become one of the major events on St. Lucia's calendar of events. During the month of May, the island moves to the beat of jazz when music fills the air and tourism takes on a whole new meaning to all. What started as simply a marketing event to boost tourism industry arrivals during a low peak period, has now developed into a truly St. Lucian Festival.

Desmond Skeete Memorial (Golf)
This 18-hole charity tournament is held during the Jazz Festival week. After the competition, golfers can enjoy Jazz on the Green, a special reception set to jazz music. Open to all, participants purchase an entry ticket. Proceeds go towards a local charity. The Desmond Skeete Memorial tournament is held in honor of the late Desmond Skeete, former Chairman of the St. Lucia Tourist Board.

12 Whit Monday
Whit Monday or Pentecost Monday is the Christian holiday celebrated the day after Pentecost, a movable feast in the Christian calendar, being dependent upon the date of Easter

22 Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi (Latin for Body of Christ) is a Christian feast in honor of the Holy Eucharist. It was originally assigned to the Thursday following Trinity Sunday, thereby mirroring Holy Thursday, the Thursday of Holy Week, the day on which Christians commemorate the last supper of Jesus Christ and his apostles, seen as the first Holy Eucharist.

June, 2008

8 Official Launch of St. Lucia Carnival
St Lucia Carnival is one of the most hyped and exciting festivals in St Lucia. It's when the majority of St Lucians, as well as tourists, get the opportunity to clamor through the streets of Castries and party until they drop. Many events lead up to St Lucia Carnival such as the choosing of the Carnival Queen, Calypso Monarch, Panorama Champions, Party Monarch and others. St Lucians and tourists enjoy these festivities as they dress as native St Lucians. In St Lucia, Carnival is at the central cultural festivals, representing cultural forms of theatre, music, dance, song, costumes and drama in one event

28-29 Dennery Fish Festival
An all day fish festival held the last weekend in June in the Atlantic-coastal village of Dennery. The event includes organized fish sales, tug-o-war competitions, sailing, and swimming and rowing events.

July, 2008

21 – 22 St. Lucia Carnival Parade of the Bands
The climax of the St Lucian Carnival celebration. On these days revelers take to the streets in a fusion of color and music as each band strives to capture the coveted title of "Band of the Year".

Sir Vivian Richards Golf Tournament
Hosted by West Indian cricketing legend Sir Vivian Richards, the competition is open to all cricket veterans like Sir Garfield Sobers, Ian Botham and Mike Atherton who team up with local golfers to play for a challenge trophy. This 18-hole tournament has a shotgun start. For tournament dates call the St. Lucia Golf and Country Club on (758) 450-8523.

August, 2008

1 Emancipation Day
Emancipation Day is widely celebrated throughout the English-speaking Caribbean or British West Indies on the first Monday in August. It commemorates the emancipation of slaves in the British Empire on August 1, 1834

31 Feast of St. Rose De Lima (La Rose)

Market Feast
Held at the Castries Market, the produce vendors celebrate their special day. There is musical entertainment and plenty of food and drinks.

TBA School's Boy Cricket Festival
Regional clubs engage the finest from St. Lucia in this annual competition.

September, 2008

TBA St. Lucia Bill Fishing Tournament
A three day competition that is open to anglers from all over the Caribbean. The Blue Marlin is the most sought-after catch and everyone is out trying to hook the biggest fish. Marlin weighing less than 250 pounds are tagged and returned to the sea. The weighing station is at Rodney Bay and all are invited to see the catches at the end of each fishing day. The Marina at Marigot Bay on St Lucia's scenic west coast is the new venue for the St Lucia Game Fishing Association's annual
Bill Fishing Tournament.

October, 2008

Creole Heritage Month
The Folk Research Centre, responsible for the preservation and promotion of St. Lucia's cultural heritage, organizes a series of events throughout the month to celebrate the Creole culture. Several communities are chosen to host events. The La Marguerite flower society festival is also held in October. The roots of this festival date back to the colonial era. Named after St. Marguerite Alacoque, celebrations include traditional songs and dances. Creole Heritage month culminates with International Creole Day or Jounen Kweyol, a worldwide celebration by all countries that speak the Creole language.

6 Thanksgiving Day

17 Feast of La Maguerite

26 Jounen Kweyol Entenasyonnal
This festival celebrates a popular yet un-official dialect of French, widely spoken in the Caribbean region. A mix of Kweyol (Creole) food, music, games and folklore come together to give this festival a really unique flavor, home to the French influenced Caribbean islands but enjoyed by many more.

30 – November 2 Food and Rum Festival
The ‘Food & Rum Festival' is an event attracting the best chefs, wine connoisseurs, rum fanatics and food critiques from across the Caribbean and the world. This festival promotes Caribbean rums, restaurants, chefs, and regionally manufactured food and drink products to local and international audiences. The festival proves a fun-packed weekend of food, rum and wine tasting, and gastronomic dinners at five star restaurants.

TBA Helen of the West Netball tournament
St Lucia's best netballers take on each other for the title of Queens of Regional Netball.

November, 2008

1 All Saints Day
The festival of All Saints, also sometimes known as All Hallows or Hallowmas ("hallows" meaning "saints," and "mas" meaning "Mass"), is a feast celebrated in the honour of all the saints, known and unknown.

1 Rotary Club of Gros Islet Golf Tournament
A one-day charity tournament, all proceeds go toward Rotary Club projects.

2 All Souls Day
All Souls' Day (also the Feast of All Souls, Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed, is the day set apart in Western Christianity, especially the Roman Catholic Church but to some extent also among Protestants, for the commemoration of the faithful departed.

22 St, Cecilia's Day
Saint Cecilia in the Roman Catholic Church is the patron saint of musicians and of the blind. Her feast day, celebrated both in the Catholic and Orthodox Church, is November 22. It was long supposed that she was a noble lady of Rome who, with her husband Valerian(us), his brother Tiburtius, and other friends whom she had converted, suffered martyrdom, C. 230, under the emperor Alexander Severus.

TBA Showtime in Paradise
Professional Boxing with a Caribbean Flavor hosted by The St. Lucia Tourist Board and BET in Simply Beautiful St. Lucia.

December, 2008

13 Festival of Lights and Renewal – the Christmas lights are turned on and there is a lantern making competition.

13 National Day – Festival of Lights and Renewal

ARC - Atlantic Rally for Cruisers
St. Lucia welcomes the world's largest transoceanic race, the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers better known as the ARC. Over 200 boats leave Gran Canaria around November 25th, cross the Atlantic and finish in Rodney Bay, St. Lucia. The first yacht usually completes the crossing by the first week of December. Boats fill the Marina and there are concerts and special events to welcome the participants. To take part in the ARC, consult their website: www.worldcruising.com.

25 Christmas Day

26 Boxing Day

TBA Heineken Kalalu Music Festival
Save the dates because this is the Caribbean's most diverse musical event featuring authentic artists from around the world. Sponsored by global brand Heineken Music, Kalalu promises the kind of cultural and culinary diversity that whets the entertainment appetite. An international food and craft bazaar was added to its already impressive resume of musicians and side attractions during the 2007 season. The Heineken KALALU Music Festival brings these influences together: sights, sounds and sensations, in a wondrous weekend of fun, food, and fantastic music ranging from the traditional to the popular.