Goombay Festival in Miami

Each June, the neighborhood of Coconut Grove in Miami lets down its hair to celebrate the Goombay Festival in recognition of the Grove’s Bahamian roots. The festival, which lasts a weel, transforms the neighborhood in to a Caribbean Carnival, celebrated with Bahamian dancing, food, music and culture.

With an estimated 100,000 attendees each day, The 28th Annual Miami/Bahamas Goombay Festival is designed to provide an expression of American/Bahamian Culture through art, music, as well as Junkanoo dance. It has been touted the largest Black Heritage festival, displaying Bahamian History, American Music, artists, Bahamian musicians, and Junkanoos; along with authentic arts and crafts. The Miami/Bahamas Goombay Festival showcases the City of Miami’s Coconut Grove, in conjunction with its very rich Bahamian culture and preserves the Bahamian component that is incorporated into the City of Miami’s structure.

If you’re heading to Miami, it is well worth checking out. There seems to be some discrepancy on dates, with some sites listing mid-June as the celebration time and others claiming the 2007 dates will be August 24 to August 26.