Traditions of Kingstown
The capital of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, with Vincy Mas in July and a Garifuna ancestry linked to Belize.
Kingstown is a busy port, with a market and a Georgian church. Saint Vincent was the home of the Garifuna people before they were deported to Central America in 1797. The Carnival, Vincy Mas, is held in late June and July, with steel pan, soca and calypso, and ends on a Tuesday with parades.
Vincy Mas and arrowroot
The festival has the Mas costumes, the Soca Monarch, Panorama, and Carnival Tuesday. Arrowroot, a starch, is grown on the island, and Vincentians hold a festival of roots. The Easter regatta at Bequia brings boat races. Nine Mornings, the dawn serenades before Christmas, involve music and street parties.
At the table
Roasted breadfruit and fried jackfish, the national dish, is a favourite with local fish. Callaloo soup, saltfish cakes and arrowroot biscuits are common. Cassava is baked. Sorrel and ginger beer are drunk at Christmas. Fishing boats land their catch on the beach each afternoon, and families gather to buy fish fresh from the sand.
Signature traditions of Kingstown
Also part of it, and being written: Breadfruit (The dish.), Garifuna (The people.), Arrowroot (The starch crop of Saint Vincent.).
A trail idea for Kingstown
- Kingstown Market Buy produce.
- Fort Charlotte See the view.
- Botanic Gardens See the breadfruit.
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Opening hours, markets and festival dates change; check locally before travelling. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
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