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Anguilla Guide to Events in August:
The Anguilla Summer Festival

Ahhh... Anguilla Carnival. Local music competitions... boatraces... beauty pageants... calypso and soca competitions... and village fairs!

It all takes place during Anguilla's Carnival in August.

The Anguilla Summer Festival Experience

It all begins with...

August Monday

Carnival's festivities really begin on August Monday with J'Ouvert, a pre-dawn street party where revelers take to the streets in the wee hours of the early morning.

Covered in paint, chalk and colorful costumes, partiers then make their way to Sandy Ground for the day's main 'day-time' event, the August Monday boatraces. There are competitions for both A & B Class Boats. It's a big day for locals and for the Summer Festival in general.

Anguilla's Colorful Parade of Troupes

The race is followed by a beach party at Sandy Ground. Local and international music acts take to the stage to entertain the fete-loving masses.

Revelers party hard until the early hours of the next morning. And if you think just one day of intense partying was enough to floor you for a week, hold on, there's more!

That's right, there is a party for each day of the first full week in August...

• August Tuesday
  On August Tuesday, there is another boat race, this time between the A Class boats. In the evening, the Miss Anguilla Queen Pageant is held, where contestants compete for the title of Miss Anguilla.
• August Wednesday
  The A Class Boat Race is held again on August Wednesday, followed by the Calypso Monarch Competition, where calypsonians compete for the title of Senior Calypso Monarch.
• August Thursday
  The day begins with the Meads Bay A & B Class Boat Races. In the evening, there is a beach party at Meads Bay and the Eyes Wide Shut music festival, which is one of the most talked-about music festivals in the Caribbean.
• August Friday
  The Grand Parade of Troupes is held on August Friday, featuring colorful costumes and lively music. This is the second and final "Road March of Carnival!"
• August Saturday
  The Anguilla Poker Run is held on August Saturday, where boats from around the Caribbean compete for a cash prize. In the evening, the Leeward Island Calypso Competition is held at the Landsome Bowl.
• August Sunday
  The Champion of Champions Boat Race is held on August Sunday, where the winners from each race during Carnival week compete to see who is the Champion of Champions.

The end of Anguilla Carnival marks the real slow-down of Anguilla's off season. Once Carnival is over and food tents have been put away, and visiting boats have pulled anchor and returned home, the island quiets right down.

Several hotels and restaurants stay open throughout August, but many close for a couple of months starting right after Carnival.

Read more on Anguilla's off season.