"The Other Emerald Isle"

Celebrate St Patrick's Week March 13-20
Fondly known as "The Other Emerald Isle", Montserrat is the only place in the world, besides Ireland, that recognises St. Patrick’s Day as a national holiday. In fact, the island has a
week of celebrations, which this year will run  from March 13th - 20th, 2010.
This event commemorates a slave uprising that took place on the then
predominantly Irish island on St. Patrick’s Day in 1768. Declared a national
holiday in 1985, the bulk of the festivities during that time took place in the
village of St. Patrick’s in the southern part of the island.  Volcanic activity
which commenced in  1995 made this area uninhabitable and celebrations are now
held in the north of the island. On St Patrick's Day itself, Festival Village in
Little Bay will undergo a transformation which will include individually
decorated slave huts and a heritage feast where indigenous foods, such as goat
water, stewed yard fowl, and bush tea, can be sampled. Other activities include
the dancing of the masqueraders (masked mummers dressed in colorful costumes), a
heritage jamboree, locals dancing in the street dressed in their national
attire. During the weeklong celebration there is also a national exhibit with
local art and crafts, a junior calypso competition, a freedom walk and run, a
freedom hike and an annual church service. In addition to selling Guinness,
local bars celebrate in a more mainstream way by decorating bars in green and
shamrocks.   for further information on the activities for St Patrick's Week go
to www.visitmontserrat.com