ANTIGUA SAILING WEEK

ENGLISH HARBOUR, St. Paul’s (1st May, 2017) The annual Dockyard Day will be celebrating the return of a number of traditional events this year as Antigua Sailing Week observes the historic milestone of its 50th anniversary.

Dockyard Day will take place on Saturday, May 6th in the Nelson’s Dockyard in English Harbour. It starts at 2:00 pm with the prize giving for the annual Antigua Sailing Week Signboard competition.

There will be the usual fun and games including face painting, bounce castle and bunji jumping and an assortment of local dishes.

A tug-of-war contest, which was a staple of the event many years ago, has now returned and is expected to attract participation from gyms across the island. The contest is open to other teams.

The greasy pole contest will be making a comeback as well and will see some of the skilled plank walkers from around the community try to ‘grab’ the prize. It is always quite a spectacle and the contest returns after an absence of many years.

The cultural parade is a major highlight, but this time it will take place late afternoon, to coincide with the conclusion of the traditional Beating of the Retreat, the symbolic closing of the yachting season.  

The Antigua and Barbuda Festivals Commission has come on board with meaningful support by providing some of the entertainers that are part of its community Carnival activities.

As a result, after the beating of the retreat and the cultural parade, there will be a number of performances from entertainers and dance groups to be capped off by the Revo Band.

The National Parks Authority is hoping to make this year’s Dockyard Day one of the most memorable and wishes to thank all the generous sponsors who continue to show their support. The funds raised go towards the upkeep of the Dockyard and its surrounding facilities, which are a part of Antigua and Barbuda’s first and only World Heritage Site.