Montserrat to host annual Calabash Festival in July

Montserrat’s annual Calabash Festival, now in its fourth year, will take place from 11th – 19th July 2009. The eight-day festival will include a range of events such as the Calabash Food Fair; a hike to Montserrat’s only white sand beach, Rendezvous Bay; an island bus tour; a boat tour to Plymouth; and a gala evening at the Montserrat Cultural Centre.

The gala event will be an evening of jazz with popular musician Paul Lunga and Arturo Tappin from Barbados.

The festival is named for the green fruit of the calabash tree which has for centuries been an indispensable multi-purpose item in the homes of Montserratians. After being cut open and scooped out, the calabash can be used as a dish, a storage container, a lantern, musical instrument or even a handbag and it has long been identified as one of Montserrat’s cultural items.

Travellers wishing to attend the festival can take advantage of the festival package being offered by Tropical Mansion Suites. The hotel is offering a special rate of US$85.99 per person (approx £52.80) based on two people sharing which includes transfers to and from the airport, breakfast at Ida’s Restaurant and late check out.

Travel to the island is via Antigua with flights from the UK to Antigua with British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and BMI. Onward flights to Montserrat are with Winair (fly-winair.com) or Fly Montserrat (flymontserrat.com). Winair provides scheduled services, while Fly Montserrat operates a private charter service.

For more information, visit visitmontserrat.com.