Caribbean carnival in Dominica

The carnival spirit will be alive and well this autumn on the Caribbean island of Dominica, as it prepares to celebrate the 30th anniversary of its Independence.

The tiny island nation – not to be confused with the Dominican Republic – was granted independence from Britain in 1978 and to celebrate will host a world-class music festival during October and November this year.

Caribbean carnival

The 12th annual World Creole Music Festival will take place from October 31st to November 2nd to be headlined by dancehall superstar Sean Paul.

The festival is a highlight of Dominica’s event calendar, attracting visitors from across the Caribbean as well as further afield.

Jamaica’s Sean Paul will headline the event on Saturday November 1st, performing alongside other international artists – such as Oliver N’Goma, Tabou Combo, Kassav – and home grown-talent including Nasio Fontaine, Triple Kay International and Belles Combo.

The three-day music festival will take place for the second year running at the Windsor Park Stadium in the capital Roseau.

Take a look at the Official sites for more information.

The festival will be followed immediately by the Dominica's 30th Independence Day celebrations on November 3rd 2008.

The event will bring to a climax 'Reunion 2008', a year-long programme of events designed to attract overseas visitors – particularly Dominican nationals living abroad – and put on display Dominica’s cultural heritage.

Independence Day itself will see events taking place island-wide including markets, music and dance performances.

Dominican cuisine will be celebrated through the preparation of regional dishes, while many locals will wear national dress.

The island of Dominica

Dominica is the northernmost of the Windward Islands, and relatively small at just 289.5 square miles.

The capital of the island – whose name translates to Sunday, the day Christopher Columbus first discovered the island – is Roseau.

While the island is largely covered in tropical rainforest, some of the main attractions are located out at sea. For example, Dominica is famous for its whale watching holiday potential.

Due to its unique underwater terrain - very close to the coast the seascape drops off thousands of feet deep, providing nutrients for whales to feed on which are not normally found so near to shore - sperm whales can be viewed first hand.

Other whales, including pilot, pygmy sperm, false killer, dwarf sperm, melon-headed and arca, can all also be viewed, making whale watching is a year-round activity in Dominica.

Scuba diving is also tremendously popular, with the island rated as one of the top five dive sites in the world.

Around the coast of the island a host of locations – including the Champagne Reef, a sub aquatic hot spring which spews forth hot water and bubbles, giving the effect of diving in champagne – offer visitors the chance to see stingrays, black durgons, huge barracuda, and turtles.

More information on diving in Dominica can be found here.

Back on shore Dominica's biggest attraction is the famous boiling lake.

The lake is the second largest of its kind in the world, and occurs at altitude of 2,500 feet - situated in Dominica's UNESCO World Heritage Site - The Morne Trois Pitons National Park.





There is also the customary hiking, horse riding and 4X4 tours on offer at various points across the island.

Getting there and away

Visitors can reach Dominica by taking a British Airways flight to Antigua, followed by a short hop on local LIAT flight over to the capital.

To cope with the increase in visitors for these events, Caribbean airlines LIAT and Winair have also announced extra flight services into Dominica from neighbouring islands including St Lucia and St Maarten.

Chris O'Toole