The Abacos

This series of two summer festivals is organized by the Abaco Tourist Office to showcase the vibrant and exciting Bahamian culture. Both locals and tourist have the opportunity to enjoy delicious local foods, great entertainment, Junkanoo rush-outs, beautiful local crafts, and a host of other cultural presentations.

Over the past few years, the Island Roots Heritage Festival has become quite a hit throughout the historic New Plymouth settlement on Green Turtle Cay. The festival showcases and celebrates the relationship between New Plymouth and its sister settlement Key West, Florida, in the USA. The event is very well organized and features lots of educational facts about the relationship between the two cities, great Bahamian food and entertainment, and beautiful straw pieces and other unique craft items for sale.

Promoted by the Ministry of Tourism, this event is held annually in efforts of allowing the local People-to-People ambassadors to mix and mingle with the visitors and winter residents. This year’s event will be held at the Coco Beach Bar in Treasure Cay and will feature traditional Bahamian foods, music and cultural performances.

This exciting cultural event, held annually, attracts many visitors and locals alike to the streets of Marsh Harbour. Senior and Junior Junkanoo groups compete to win the attention of spectators and most importantly the judges, through their elaborate costumes, dance moves and soul touching music, with hopes of being named the best group on the island. It is held over a two-night period, with the junior competition being held on the first night and the senior on the last night.

For the fifth year in a row, Hope Town, Elbow Cay, will come alive with the sound of music for the Annual Patrick Davis Songwriter's Festival. An all-star roster of talented songwriters will converge on a number of different venues to perform original songs. Hailing from Nashville, TN, headliner Patrick Davis will not only be performing on opening night, he’s also one of the producers of the six-day festival.

This very popular Christmas Festival takes place every year on the first Saturday in December, kicking off the holiday season in The Abacos and bringing together family and friends from near and far. Activities at the festival include early Christmas shopping at the Arts & Crafts Bazaar, a Food Court filled with Bahamian dishes, performances from Choirs, Quartets, Soloists, Marching and Calypso Bands, a Junkanoo Parade, a Dog Show and other festive activities.

Professional and non-professional swimmers of all ages are invited to compete in this event. The race course is located in the waterway of Marsh Harbour near Albury's Ferry and is 5K in length. Persons can also sign up to compete in the paddle board and kayak challenge. The post race celebration will include great music, food, drinks and awards.

The Bahamas will celebrate 44 years as an independent country. Events are planned across The Abacos in commemoration of this significant event in the life of our nation.

Kicking off with the famous “Stranded Naked” event on Fiddle Cay, this renowned racing series links the American and Bahamian Independence Day celebrations and is held between those dates. It features primarily American sloops and attracts dozens of sailing enthusiasts to The Abacos to see those boats compete. This year, the event commences in Hope Town and ends in Green Turtle Cay, with the post Regatta party - "Cheeseburger in Paradise"  held at Fiddle Cay.