Barbados, Gale Theatre of London & Barbados, Macbeth, 05-13 April 2008
Following the successful production of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit during the Holders Season last year, the Gale Theatre of London & Barbados will be staging William Shakespeare's tragedy, Macbeth at the Frank Collymore Hall in April. This Anglo-Barbadian theatre group is still relatively young, having been founded in 2007 as non profit, charitable organisation to promote the talents of Barbadian actors with the aid of London professionals. It also aims to produce at least one play per year in Barbados, ideally taken from the current CXC school syllabus. This will give Barbadian students the opportunity to not only see a live theatrical performance but one which has, where possible, been adapted by the Gale Theatre to contain a Caribbean flavour and relevance. Headed by Artistic Director Producer, Melissa Simmonds (RADA trained), all the company's work is developed, rehearsed and produced on island. This season's production of Macbeth will be 'guest-directed' by London-based Glen Walford, who also directed last year's production. The lead roles of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth will be played by Peter Temple and Alison Sealy Smith.

The Gala Night for Macbeth is at 8pm on April 5th the Frank Collymore Hall in Bridgetown. This will be followed by evening performances on 6th and 13th April at 7pm and 12th April at 8pm, with matinee performances at 2pm on April 10th, 11th and 13th. Tickets are available at Super Centre/Big Big supermarkets (Sunset Crest, Warrens, Oistins) and CS Pharmacy in Bridgetown. Please note that dates/times given for the performances are subject to change without notice. Please check locally for confirmation. For further information please see www.galetheatre.com

For more things to do and see on Barbados, please see the complete 2008 Calendar of Events in our Definitive Caribbean Guide to Barbados.

Tobago, 4th Annual Plymouth Jazz Festival, 25-27 April 2008
This increasingly popular event (also promoted as the Tobago Jazz Festival) is relatively new on the Caribbean music festival circuit, but it has already gained a reputation for pulling in some big names. In its three years so far it has already headlined Sir Elton John and Sting. Although is named a 'Jazz' festival, the line-up of mainly soul and R&B artists gives it a much broader appeal.

The stage for the festival is set up on playing fields on a sea promontory overlooking Great Courland Bay, just beyond the fishing village of Plymouth on Tobago's north shore. The area is the site of the oldest settlement in Tobago and on the tip of the point is Fort James, where cannons and the partial ruins of a British stone fort (built in the early 1800s to replace an earlier fort dating back to the 1700s) still stand. The festival itself is a relaxed, open air event, to which people take picnics and blankets or chairs to sit on. There are various stalls selling local food and snacks, drinks, art and crafts.

The opening show, on Friday 25th April at 7pm, will feature Diana Ross, Peabo Bryson, James Ingram and Smokey Robinson. On Saturday 26th at 6pm Shakira, En Vogue and Steel Pulse perform. And the final show on Sunday 27th, starting at 5pm, includes Rod Stewart and Whitney Houston. More artists are to be announced.

Tickets are available for purchase on-line with collection in Tobago from the Tourist Board Office at Crown Point International Airport, or they can be purchased from the following outlets in the island: Sinanan's West End Pharmacy in Bon Accord, Stechers in NIB Mall Scarborough, Caribbean Jewellers in Gulf City Lowlands Mall and Marquis Jewellers in Scarborough. Costs are: Fri 25th US$120/TT$762 (VIP package US$200/TT$1,270), Sat 26th US$150/TT$953 (VIP package US$240/TT$1,524), Sun 27th US$170/TT$1,080 (VIP package US$280/TT$1,778). A Weekend Party Pass for 25-27th Apr costs US$420/TT$2,667 (VIP package US$700/TT$4,445). The VIP package includes alcoholic and soft drinks, a separate entrance, an exclusive food vending area and a position closer to the stage. Seating is not provided at the venue but chairs are usually available for rent from a private vendor. For further information, details for purchasing tickets in Trinidad and updates on additional artists please see www.plymouthjazzfest.com/

For more things to do and see on Tobago, please see the complete 2008 Calendar of Events in our Definitive Caribbean Guide to Tobago.

St Barths, 13th St Barth Film Festival - Cinéma Caraïbe, 25-30 April 2008
The St Barth Film Festival must be one of the most relaxed and informal festivals in the world. It is held largely in a tennis club in Lorient, where a court is converted into the auditorium and films are screened on a white wall - it is referred to as the 'Cinema under the Stars'. The festival is so low key and free of red carpets that the only stars you are likely to see are the ones above you in the sky.

The aim of the small festival is to showcase Caribbean films and filmmakers, and to use film as a way of making St Barthians and visitors more aware of the cultural diversity of the Caribbean as a region. There is a European and Latin American element - last year a special guest was Guillermo del Toro, director of the Academy Award-winning Pan's Labyrinth, which was screened during the event. The festival provides a forum for directors to discuss their work and for Caribbean filmmakers to meet with their European counterparts. There is also a 'film-in-the-schools' programme, in which directors host video screenings and give students an insight into the industry. Most of the films shown during the festival relate either to St Barths and the Caribbean or to Latin America and all are shown in their original language with French dubbing or sub-titles. The programme of films for the 2008 festival is currently as follows:

Friday, April 25 - St. Barthélemy: La Belle et L'Avion by Pierre Brouwers, at Capitanerie, Gustavia, 7pm. Le Mozart Noir A Cuba by Steve and Stephanie James at The Capitainerie, Gustavia, 8.30pm.

Saturday, April 26 - Le Village Japonais by Isabelle Fauchet Collier, at The Capitainerie, Gustavia, 3.30pm. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud at AJOE Tennis Club, Lorient, 8pm. St. Barthélemy: La Belle et L'Avion by Pierre Brouwers, at Flamands, 8pm.

Sunday, April 27 - Haiti Cheri by Claudio Del Punta (advance premiere), at AJOE Tennis Club, Lorient, 8pm.

Monday, April 28 - The Year My Parents Went On Vacation by Coa Hamburger, at AJOE Tennis Club, Lorient, 8pm

Tuesday, April 29 - El Bonaerense by Pablo Trapero, at AJOE Tennis Club, Lorient, 8pm.

Wednesday, April 30 - Made in Jamaica by Jerome, at AJOE Tennis Club, Lorient, 8pm.

Tickets cost €6 per person, per showing or €25 for all five days. Soft drinks, popcorn, T-shirts and baseball caps are available for purchase. The festival also includes afternoon screenings of short films and documentaries in video at The Capitainerie in Gustavia. Please note programme details are subject to change without notice. For updates and further information please see www.stbarthff.org

For more things to do and see on St Barths, please see the complete 2008 Calendar of Events in our Definitive Caribbean Guide to St Barths.

St Lucia Jazz Festival, 02-11 May 2008
The ever popular St Lucia Jazz festival is now in its 17th year. As always, this year's ten day billing has an intentionally diverse range of artists, from international superstars to the Caribbean region's top performers, including several from St Lucia itself. And whilst acts at Pigeon Island National Park's Main Stage tend to be quite mainstream - a mix of jazz (acoustic, straight, new age and fusion), R&B, soul and even hip-hop - Jazz in the South and other Fringe Activities (many of which are free of charge) offer a stronger Afro-Caribbean slant. Fringe shows include: Fond d'Or Jazz, at the Fond d'Or Nature and Heritage Park in Mabouya Valley near Dennery during the first weekend, and Jazz in the South at Rudy John Beach Park (free), Laborie and Vieux Fort Square (free). In Castries, starting 5th May, the following events are also free: Jazz on the Square, held each weekday lunchtime at noon in Derek Walcott Square, followed by Teatime Jazz at 3pm from Monday to Thursday at La Place Carenage, and Jazz on the Pier from 3pm on Friday at Pointe Seraphine.

This year's main stage line-up at Pigeon Island is currently headed by Dianne Reeves and the Juilliard Quintet on Thursday 8th May and Michael Bolton and Jonathan Butler on Friday 9th May. Saturday May 10th will see Anita Baker and the Jazz Explosion, which will feature a number of artists including David Sanchez and Najee. And then on Sunday 11th May is the final concert with Dionne Warwick, Angie Stone, Wyclef Jean and the Eric Ildefonse Quintet.

Over the last decade the line-up of international artists has been very impressive. Past performers include Natalie Cole, George Benson, Rihanna, Seal, Kenny G, Earth Wind & Fire, The Isley Brothers, Earl Klugh, Ashford & Simpson, Nancy Wilson, Al Green, Al Jarreau, Chick Corea, Grover Washington, Isaac Hayes, Mary J Blige, Roberta Flack, Harry Belafonte, David Sanborn, Joe Sample, Patti Labelle, Luther Vandross, Lou Rawls, Herbie Hancock, Gladys Knight and Smokey Robinson.

Tickets can be purchased on-line or locally from the St Lucia Tourist Board Office or the Jazz Shop. They can also be purchased (at no additional cost) from the gate at Pigeon Island. Tickets for the main stage venue at Pigeon Island cost US$40/EC$100 per person (adult or child) for the evening performances on May 8th and 9th, and US$70/EC$175 per adult or US$18/EC$50 per child (0-10 yrs) for the afternoon performances on May 10th and 11th. Seating is limited as the festival is an open air event in 'picnic style' and certain restrictions apply - no glasses or bottles, no smoking except in designated areas and no unauthorised filming. Local food, snacks and drinks are available from small stalls.

Please note that the official line-up was not complete at the time of publication, and that all event details given are subject to change without notice. For further information and updates on additional performers please see www.stluciajazz.org

For more things to do and see on St Lucia, please see the complete 2008 Calendar of Events in our Definitive Caribbean Guide to St Lucia.

Caribbean Cricket - 2008 Carib Beer Cricket Series, finals 24-28 April 2008. Digicel Home Series 2008, West Indies v Sri Lanka, 03-15 April 2008 and West Indies v Australia, 16 May-06 July 2008
Caribbean cricket fans are being treated to a whole run of regional and international cricket matches during the first half of 2008. The cricket fest started off in January with two regional series, the Stanford 20/20 Tournament 2008 in Antigua (which was won on February 24th by Trinidad & Tobago, who beat Jamaica by 9 wickets and took home winnings over US$1 million) and the 2008 Carib Beer Cricket Series, which was still ongoing at the time of publication. The Carib Beer series has been staged at various venues throughout the Caribbean, with the last matches of 'Round 7' played in Trinidad, Guyana and Nevis at the end of March. The finals are due to take place on 24-28 April, at a venue yet to be advised.

In April, there is international Test Cricket in the islands with the Digicel Home Series 2008. The Sri Lankans arrived in mid March, starting off their tour in Guyana. They will be playing matches in Trinidad and St Lucia from April 3rd. And after them come Australia, whose tour of the West Indies kicks off in Jamaica in May and moves to Antigua, Barbados, St Vincent and Grenada, before finishing up in St Kitts in early July. The itinerary for the Digicel Home Series is currently as follows - it should be noted that venues and dates are subject to change without notice and that rest/practice days have not been included:

Jamaica, Clipper 07-08, Round the World Yacht Race, ETA 19-24 May 2008
With its code name of The Rasta Rocket, the 68ft Dubois yacht Jamaica is the first Jamaican-sponsored yacht to compete in the gruelling 35,000 mile Round the World Yacht race. Ten yachts are currently racing in the event which set off from Liverpool on 16 September 2007 and they are due to arrive at the Errol Flynn Marina in Port Antonio around May 19th at the end of Leg 6 of the race. The fleet is then due to depart around 24 May for the final Leg 7 of the race, which leads back to Liverpool (ETA 5th July 2008) via New York, Halifax and Cork. A total of 15 individual races are divided between the seven legs.

This challenging event was founded in 1995 by Sir Robin Knox-Johnson (the first sailor to complete a solo, non-stop journey around the world) to give ordinary people the chance to sail around the world. The first race set off in 1996 and the event takes place every two years. A qualified skipper leads each yacht, but all crew on board are amateurs and they pay to take part in the race on a fleet of identical yachts. Yachts are individually sponsored by cities and regions around the world, each appropriately named. The Jamaica Tourist Board's entry, which carries the logo 'Once you go you know', joins yachts backed by Liverpool and Hull & Humber (England), Glasgow (Scotland), Nova Scotia (Canada), New York (USA), Durban (South Africa), Western Australia, Singapore, and Qingdao (China).

For more information please see www.clipperroundtheworld.com and for the Jamaica crew's Blog see www.jamaicaclipper.com

For more things to do and see on Jamaica, please see the complete 2008 Calendar of Events in our Definitive Caribbean Guide to Jamaica.

8th Barbados Rally Carnival, 22 May-02 June 2008
Barbadians love their cars and are keen motorsport fans (around 20,000 turned out in November 2006 to watch a display given by the Formula 1 Ferrari Team). There is a keen following for local rallying and the biggest event of the Barbados motorsports calendar is the Barbados Rally Carnival. It attracts huge crowds of highly sociable and often very vocal Bajans and an increasing number of visitors. Teams from Barbados, the Caribbean region and UK/Europe compete and they ship their vehicles over for the event. Last year saw 82 entries including teams from England, Wales, Scotland, Spain, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Holland and the USA. The carnival is a mix of social and rallying events which include the International RallySprint and Rally Barbados.

The International RallySprint is held at Vaucluse Raceway in St Thomas, a 2.8km RallySprint Track built in 2000. The event is organised by the Vaucluse Raceway Motor Sports Club and takes place on 25 May from 9am. Also featured is the final round of the three round Vaucluse Raceway RallySprint Cup. The second event of the carnival is organised by the Barbados Rally Club, which celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2007. Their 19th international race meet will start with the SOL King of the Hill shakedown hill-climb on 24 May (time/location to be advised) and will continue the following weekend with the SOL Rally Barbados 2008. This sets off on 31 May at 9am from Simpson Motors Ltd in Warrens and then re-starts the following day at 7am, finishing at the Vaucluse Raceway with the SuperSpecial stage at 3pm. The results and prize giving ceremony and party will be held at the Boatyard near Bridgetown on 02 June.

Barbados has a good network of paved roads and in all drivers will cover 322km (132km competitive and 290km transit) during Rally Barbados, with 24 stages between four routes over the two days. There will be a warm-up rally on 17 & 20th April. All information/dates relating to the Barbados Rally Carnival may be subject to change without notice. For further information please see www.rallybarbados.bb (a Spectators List should be available in due course) or www.barbadosrallycarnival.com

For more things to do and see on Barbados, please see the complete 2008 Calendar of Events in our Definitive Caribbean Guide to Barbados.

Jost Van Dyke, BVI, 34th Annual Foxy's Wooden Boat Regatta, 23-25 May
This 'fun' yet still competitive regatta is the brainchild of Philicianno 'Foxy' Callwood, the animated owner of the hugely popular Foxy's Bar in Great Harbour, Jost van Dyke. Being a keen sailor himself, Foxy and some of his like-minded friends felt that they were missing a 'real' regatta in the BVI, one which gave the more traditional and rarer wooden boats the chance to compete. The regatta, which went into partnership with the West End Yacht Club in 1974, started out with a handful of wooden vessels, but over the years it has become a firm fixture on the sailing calendar, attracting sailors from all over the world. One of the main draws of the regatta is the party atmosphere back at Foxy's beach bar, which itself celebrated its 40th anniversary last month. There is live entertainment (sometimes by Foxy himself), barbecues and plenty of drinking for both onlookers and crews. In order to ensure the longevity of the regatta, the rules were changed in 2007 to include a Classic Race set aside for older fibreglass boats, which must be at least 30 years old. The regatta is open to anyone with a wooden boat or a fiberglass boat of no less than 30 years old. For further information please see www.foxysbar.com.

Interestingly, in early 2005 the Jost Van Dyke Preservation Society, which was founded by Foxy (who is also Chairman), launched a Sloop Project as part of its Maritime Heritage Program. The project was to construct a 32ft wooden island sloop named Endeavour II. Built by local high school students under the tutelage of an experienced captain, the yacht is now nearing completion. The sloop project is funded purely by donations and its aim is to showcase the island's maritime skills whilst incorporating modern building methods and safety levels. The use of students to build the sloop is to help safeguard a future generation of craftsmen. Once completed, the sloop will be used as an educational sailboat for schoolchildren, for cultural exhibitions to promote the BVI's maritime history, for day sail charters (to pay for its upkeep) and as a BVI flagship for regattas. It is hoped that Endeavour II will be completed in time to take part in Foxy's Wooden Boat Regatta this coming May.

For more things to do and see on the British Virgin Islands, please see the complete 2008 Calendar of Events in our Definitive Caribbean Guide to the BVI.