Regional Happenings

Every day is a celebration somewhere in the Bahamas, Caribbean or Florida Keys. Regional Happenings help define the culture, lifestyle and people of our countries. Take a tour of our articles and visit some of the best celebrations the Islands have to offer.

Christmas in Bahamas

Christmas in Bahamas is a great carnival time with various secular activities and festivals occurring in this time. However Bahamian Christmas activities include gift giving, feasting, Christmas cards, Christmas music, Christmas masquerade and others.
People present gifts and exchange greetings during Christmas time. Children are offered toys and candy canes by Santa. Families prepare food, cakes and other goodies for families and loved ones. In Christmastime the house gets a thorough going over. It is cleaned carefully. New curtains are hung up. Furniture are varnished and covered with embroidered cloth in the day of Christmas. A Christmas tree is the center of attraction in most houses. It is decorated with twinkling lights, tree top angels, icicles and other ornaments.

Food has always been a central feature of Christmas in Bahamas. Some traditional Bahamian Christmas items are black cake, ginger beer, imported apples, imported grapes, garlic pork, pepper pot, pickled onions and ham. Christmas drinks included ginger beer, sorrel, mauby, sweet potato fly (a fly is a fermented drink), other kinds of fly, falernum, shandy, rum and wines. About a week before Christmas Day carolers go out in the evening singing carols in public places. One of favorite Christmas carols Christians Awake, Salute the Happy Morn still rings in the ear.

Christmas in Bahamas would not be complete without Junkanoo parades. The participants wear colorful dresses and dance to the rhythmic accompaniment of cowbells, drums and whistles. Among the Junkanoo troupes are the Saxons, Valley Boys and Roots. The most spectacular Junkanoo parade occurs in Nassau. It can also be experienced on Grand Bahama, Eleuthera, Bimini and Abaco.

Courtesy of Cristmas Carnival

Jade Mountain Estate Chocolate Festival

An interactive experience in the world of cacao and chocolate

Jade Mountain in St Lucia kicks off its annual Chocolate Festival from December 9-12, 2011

December 9 - “Chocolat-tini” party featuring Jade Mountain’s well-known chef Allen Susser. Guests will enjoy a complimentary chocolate martini, along with local, seasonal, chocolate-inspired finger foods - and exotic chocolate desserts.

December 10 - Walking tour through the cocoa plantation and organic gardens. Guests will learn about the alchemy of chocolate from pod to truffle in a unique workshop led by Chef Susser. Following the tour and workshop, a picnic lunch will be served on the porch of the Nick Troubetzkoy’s Emerald Estate farm house. The evening concludes with a five course dinner using chocolate in each course. This creative dinner will change your mind about chocolate forever, with chocolate as inspiration, spice, flavor and texture. Wine from Jade Mountain's cellar will be served with each course.

December 11 - Wake up to a luxurious “Chocolate Breakfast in Bed.” You will want to savor this experience with the one you love in the privacy of your sanctuary. You choose the time (from sunrise on) we will handle the rest.

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World Championship Powerboat Races

KEY WEST, Florida Keys — Powerboats manned by leading American and international racing teams are to thunder through the waters of Key West Harbor during the Key West World Championship, slated Sunday through Sunday, Nov. 6-13, 2011.

Boats are to race on a 6.5-mile course, featuring both rough and calm water conditions, during the season-ending event acclaimed as the Indianapolis 500 of the offshore powerboat racing circuit. The challenging course is a primary reason for the island city's reputation as one of the world's premier racing venues.

The course layout provides spectators unmatched close-up views of the high-speed action. According to race organizer John Carbonell, boats will be within 50 yards of race fans at the Truman Waterfront grandstand area as they roar into the outer harbor.

The Key West World Championship is to kick off with a parade of race boats down the island's legendary Duval Street beginning at 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 6.

The excitement builds through the week with races Wednesday, Nov. 9; Friday, Nov. 11; and Sunday, Nov. 13. Three races are scheduled per day, each featuring boats from multiple classes.

Among spectators' favorites is the Superboat Unlimited class, which draws powerful contenders that compete at speeds exceeding 125 mph.

On nonrace days, powerboat enthusiasts can view the boats and mingle with racers and crews at the race village on the Truman Waterfront, located at the end of Southard Street past Thomas Street and Truman Annex.

In addition, parties and events are planned for racers and fans.

General-admission tickets are available, as are all-inclusive VIP spectator passes for the Truman Waterfront grandstands. Other popular viewing areas include waterfront hotels and Key West's Mallory Square.

Tasty Keys Lobster Season Begins

Attention, crustacean fans: today is the start of the eagerly anticipated Florida Keys lobster season.

Surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, the Keys are a paradise for lovers of fish and seafood. Diners can savor plump pink steamed shrimp, fish and chips made with mahi-mahi so fresh it's practically still swimming, and chilled stone crab claws with creamy mustard sauce.

Topping the list of enticing Keys seafood is the native lobster, often called spiny lobster.

As well as delectable dining, these lobsters make a lucrative harvest for the area's commercial fishermen. According to the Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen's Association, more than 80 percent of the spiny lobster harvested in Florida is caught in the Keys area.

Unlike the northern variety, Keys lobsters are clawless. But unless diners are clueless, once they bite into the sweet and tender meat of the tail, they won't pine for the pincers.

For maximum enjoyment, lobster should be savored in one of the Florida Keys' waterside seafood shacks or gourmet emporiums while watching an orange-red sunset.

The most popular way to serve the sensational crustacean is grilled with melted butter or, like its Maine cousin, steamed or boiled. While traditional northern trimmings might include boiled potatoes and corn on the cob, it's not unusual to find Keys lobster paired with Cuban black beans and yellow rice.

Some area chefs prepare lobster stuffed and broiled, while others blend lobster meat with exotic sauces incorporating tropical fruits such as mango. It's possible to start the day with a luscious Lobster Benedict at some creative local eateries — and few people can resist the Lobster Reuben at Keys Fisheries in Marathon.

The annual Keys lobster season is celebrated with diverse land- and water-based events. They include a Lobster Rodeo competition for divers in the Middle Keys and a three-day Key West Lobsterfest highlighted by a street party and feast on the island's Duval Street
Courtesy of Fla-Keys.com

Photo courtesy of Key West Lobsterfest

Mel Fisher Days to Honor Legendary Shipwreck Salvor July 14-17

The Mel Fisher Lifetime Achievement Award was granted posthumously in 2009 to Deo Fisher, Mel’s wife and partner in adventure, who died in January 2009. They had many early adventures together.

KEY WEST, Florida Keys — The late shipwreck salvor Mel Fisher is to be honored Thursday through Sunday, July 14-17, with a festival that also commemorates the 26th anniversary of his discovery of the sunken Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha.

Fisher and his crew uncovered a $450 million cache of Atocha treasure and artifacts July 20, 1985, after a 16-year search. The galleon sank in 1622 approximately 35 miles southwest of Key West.

Fisher's son Kim Fisher and grandson Sean Fisher, who direct the ongoing search for still-missing Atocha artifacts and treasures, spearhead the festival each year.

Scheduled events begin at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 14, at the Schooner Wharf Bar, 202 William St. in Key West's Historic Seaport. On tap are games recalling Mel Fisher's exuberant lifestyle, a treasure-themed bikini contest and authentic treasure prizes.

From 3-9 p.m. Friday, a street carnival celebrating Fisher is to take place in the 200 block of Key West's Duval Street with live concert entertainment, a silent auction, rollicking games and more.

Saturday, July 16, a Midnight Gambler Texas Hold 'Em Poker Tournament salutes Fisher's adventurous spirit. The fun is set for 8:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. aboard Sunset Watersports' Party Cat catamaran.

Sunday's schedule features the 1 p.m. presentation of the Mel Fisher Lifetime Achievement Award to Professor David Bederman of Emory Law School. Bederman has been instrumental in the decades-long legal struggle for salvors' rights to explore and recover mankind's maritime heritage from the sea. The presentation takes place in the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum's courtyard, 200 Greene St.

The festival's highlight is a 2 p.m. reunion of the "golden crew" that searched for the Atocha with Fisher. The reunion is scheduled at The Bull, located at the corner of Duval and Caroline streets in Key West's historic downtown.

Courtesy of fla-keys.com