Key West Goombay Festival
When visiting Key West, you shouldn't miss a Key West “Goombay Festival”.
In the early morning, Key West's Bahama Village (a cross-street of Duval Street) is already lined with food and street vendors setting up their stalls (jewelry, t-shirts, ceramics, etc.) and with musicians setting up their equipment, which provides a glimpse of the activities later in the day.
The real event starts in late afternoon. The streets slowly fill with people of all ethnic backgrounds. It is a joyous celebration where visitors and the local Bahamian population, that traces its roots to the Bahamas, mingle.
Food vendors offer a variety of mouth-watering and often unfamiliar food—passing the stalls without sampling the food can prove to be quite difficult. With a variety of tasty meat skewers and rice dishes (or how about a traditional jambalaya?), visitors have many choices. And, of course, you can also enjoy a rum and coke.
You can't help but get carried away by this colorful event and the typical Caribbean Junkanoo music that is played at every street corner.
The Key West Goombay Festivals have a long tradition, their history going back to Africa. The term "goombay" denotes the beat of the drums and the dance that came to the United States from the Bahamas. The annual festival is held to honor and preserve the tradition, customs and the culture from the Bahamas.
Calendar of events:
Goombay Festival Key West: October 21-22, 2011
More Information:
- Website of the Goombay Festival
- More information about Key West
