culture & events

St. Kitts and Nevis offers a diverse range of cultural events and recreational activities.

Sandy beaches and warm clear waters surround a treasure trove of historic sites, exhilarating music, colours and food. The adventurous can explore the rich tropical forests and cloud-topped volcanic peaks.

Like other Caribbean nations, St. Kitts and Nevis holds a colourful and lively carnival each year. The ten-day party opens officially on December 24th and is followed by traditional Caribbean celebrations into the New Year, including Calypso King and Queen competitions, the Miss St. Kitts beauty and talent pageant and the regional Caribbean Queen Show.

Year-round events include fishing tournaments, the Caribbean Cup multi-island bicycle race (the St. Kitts leg is called the Cane Road Classic), sailing regattas, music festivals, the Nevis Culturama and more.

The St. Kitts Music Festival, which takes place in June, features a wide range of world music, including salsa, soul, soca, samba, reggae and jazz and pop. In 2006, the festival celebrated its tenth birthday.

Each July, the Nevis Culturama, held in Charlestown, the island’s capital, offers a parade of costumed troupes, arts and crafts, talent shows, beauty pageants, calypso competitions and a local food fair.

History enthusiasts will enjoy Brimstone Hill on St. Kitts. This massive fortress, once dubbed the Gibraltar of the West Indies, covers 38 acres and rises almost 800 ft (244 m) above sea level. From the carefully restored and preserved fortifications, the neighbouring islands of Nevis, Saba, St Barts, St Eustatius and St Maarten can often be glimpsed. There is an exceptional wealth of other historic sites, including restored fortresses, reputedly haunted plantations and ancient petroglyphs (pictures and inscriptions cut into stone).

Shopping opportunities abound on St. Kitts and Nevis. Island artisans are noted for wooden carvings, coral, coconut-shell and seashell crafts, woven goods and sea island cottons. The colourful batiks of Romney Manor are not to be missed.

Island dishes are generally spicy and offer unusual combinations of flavours. Banana, coconut, mango and passion fruit are used with spices and freshly picked herbs to create delicious sauces for beef, chicken, pork and fish. Goatwater, a soup of stewed mutton or goat, and souse, a piquant stew made of assorted parts of the pig, are local favourites.