Dominica also known as “The Nature Island of the Caribbean” is often confused with Dominican Republic, which is in the Greater Antilles near Cuba. Dominica is based in the Lesser Antilles, situated near Antigua, Martinique and Guadeloupe.

It may be small compared to Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad, yet it has a rambunctious character all of its own especially when musical events occur.

World Creole Festival is a three-day musical festival in the last week of October, dedicated to West Indian music. The festival began in 1997 as a means of increasing tourism and promoting Creole music to the maximum. Expect to hear the prevalent sounds of Bouyon (a mix of two types of Dominican music i.e. Jing Ping and Kadance with percussion undertones and a fast paced beat) and Zouk (an upbeat fusion of Caribbean and African genres of music i.e. Latin Mambo, Salsa, and Ghanaian High life) within performances.

International reggae acts such as Elephant Man, Wyclef Jean and Shaggy have performed at the festival in past years. Regular performers of the World Creole festival are Alison Hinds — the voluptuous, mature Caribbean version of Beyoncé in West Indian Music. She captures the crowd with her energetic presence on stage throughout the duration of her set. By the time it comes to an end the crowd are left pleading for more.

When World Creole Festival comes to an end you will be humming the infectious songs on the plane home!

Mas Domnik Carnival is colourful, vivacious and absolutely amazing. Commencing early January, the carnival season ends in February, with the grand finale being Jump Up; the final two days of carnival celebration.

Many generations take part in the two day festival. You will see old and young people wearing attractive, vibrant traditional carnival attire like the Sensay (a costume made from crepe paper, cloth and frayed plastic, a black mask and cow horns complete the outfit) and jumping up to the various Caribbean musical genres blaring from floats on trucks, while excited passers by and onlookers follow and dance behind the floats around the capital of Dominica, Roseau.

Tips:

• Trips World Wide will organise and plan your trip to Dominca for you visit their website. Or call them on 0017 311 4400.
• If you are on a budget, staying in a guesthouse will save you a lot of money. St James Guesthouse in Roseau room rates start at £16 per night. For more information visit their website.

Carnival in its entirety takes between “6 months to a year to plan and organise”, said Val Cuffy the Dominican festivals commissioner. This year the Africana theme was prevalent in Mas Domnik through costume and float designs. Mr Cuffy added: “We tried to keep Mas Domnik original and authentic, trying to keep it alive in Dominica.”

Neighbouring isles of Dominica along with tourists from all over the world make the trip to see Mas Domnik Carnival in all its splendour. Brinnette Belle, 14, had the opportunity to visit the island in 2006 with her family and prefers Dominican carnival to Notting Hill carnival. She said: “It was fantastic. The floats, little children dancing, the food, bands everything.”

What surprised her about Mas Domnik was how safe and minimal police presence was in comparison to Notting Hill Carnival. She added: “You don’t get anyone fighting.”

Photo by Browser