Colorful costumes, headdresses, masks, and steel drums also are a big part of the Key West Goombay Festival. The music will have you dancing and clapping to the beat. Groups from the Bahamas such as Gully Rooster and Baha Men perform junkanoo music that is part of Goombay. According to the Goombay Festival website, "This year we are planning to feature as many of the most popular entertainers from the Bahamas as the Bahamian government will allow to come to America. . . " Groups from Key West who play their own version of junkanoo music will join the Bahama musicians.
Local Key West officials along with gospel choirs and local talent will open the festival on October 20th. This event will take place on the main stage in Key West's Bahama Village at the corner of Emma and Petronia Streets. Caribbean music will be played from this stage throughout the festival. Scenes from a previous Goombay Festival give a preview of the fun and music that will soon be filling Bahama Village.
Vendors from around the world will be on-hand during the street fair on Friday and Saturday. The street fair is open from noon to midnight each of these days and arts, crafts, and food specialties will be plentiful. The Key West Goombay Festival is now in its 31st year and it remains a "family friendly" event. It has grown to be an educational as well as a cultural experience.
Goombay Festival occurs during the Key West Fantasy Fest (see my blog, "Only In Key West - Aquatic Afrolic!") so there is even more to see and do beyond the October 20-22 dates. Some folks wonder how we manage to work and go to school in Key West around all the festivals!
Part of the attraction of Key West is the combination of fun and frolic along with quiet escapes and natural beauty. You can have it all in Key West - let me show you the great real estate choices. Give me a call: Jimmy Lane 305-766-0585 or contact me online.
photo courtesy Key West Goombay Facebook Page
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