Each year villagers from all over Tobago dress up in traditional costumes to enact village life from the early 1900’s. Villagers come out in all their glory to perform folk singing, dancing and feasting. The Heritage festival was created to preserve the unique cultural traditions of the island. The Heritage Festival has become a signature main event on the Tobago calendar.
The Tobago Heritage festival, first begun in 1987 as a way to capture and preserve the unique cultural traditions of the island of Tobago and has become to Tobago what Carnival is to Trinidad. It usually lasts for two weeks and is held from mid-July to early August. Throughout the festival, visitors can traverse the quaint, friendly villages to savor traditional culinary delights such as dumplings (boiled dough) and curried crab.
Hundreds enjoy the indigenous folk songs, dance, music, drama and sporting events. In all of them the combined influences of the Amerindian, African, and European cultures are evident. Among the highlights are the “Ole Time Carnival”, “Ole Time Wedding”, and the more contemporary “Miss Heritage Pageant”. At times, other celebrations such as the landing at Plymouth of the 17th century Courlanders and Emancipation Day coincide with this festival.