Beach, Boats, Bacchanal was the theme of the just-ended 2019 Anguilla Summer Festival. But, in reality, it was the other way around –bacchanal, beach, boats.
That was because on J’ouvert morning, Monday, August 5, throngs of revellers took to the streets and journeyed from The Valley to Road Bay, Sandy Ground, for the mass Caribbean Beach Party and the class A and class B boat races in that order. It was a matter of misfortune however that, due to wind conditions, only the B class race was held.
Road Bay was, as usual, a beehive of activity. A dense crowd danced in gay abandonment on a large area of the beach – in front of an imposing stage – to a combination of musical bands and singers throughout the day. All other sections of the beach were taken up by multiple tents with food and drink, and rows of visiting pleasure boats with hundreds of visitors occupying the inshore waters. The background to the south was attractively brought up by the Anguillian-crafted sailboats ready for the B class race.
The scenes of this story are the J’ouvert, the Caribbean Beach Party and the B Class Boat Race.
