Why go
Nassau's Junkanoo parades join music, dance and visual art; Family Island regattas bring sailing and a shore-side gathering together. Palm-frond basketry and local food festivals offer other ways to understand how craft, sea travel and agriculture shape cultural life across the archipelago.
The full story
Junkanoo is a Bahamian street parade built around music, dance and art. Nassau is a major setting for it, especially on Boxing Day and New Year's Day, with events also held for other occasions. It is a scheduled public celebration, so check the current programme rather than assuming a parade will be underway during an ordinary visit. In many Family Island settlements, regattas centre on traditional work boats and extend into festivals ashore. Their setting is different from a Nassau street parade: the sailing and the gathering beside it belong together. Handcraft offers another point of connection. Palm fronds are plaited into the material commonly called straw, then made into baskets, hats and bags. Festivals have also celebrated local crops and foods, including pineapple in Gregory Town on Eleuthera and crab on Andros. These examples are specific to their communities; they do not stand for a single practice shared by every Bahamian island.