Tortola’s East End picked up where the main August Emancipation Festival activities in Road Town left off last week, giving residents the opportunity to celebrate the even-earlier emancipation of the Long Look Estate community 249 years ago.
Community turnout was strong overall, according to East End/Long Look Festival Planning Sub-Committee Chair Shaunice Leonard, who oversaw the return of the village and a full-scale parade this year.
“We were very pleased with the turnout and the overall atmosphere on the eastern side,” Ms. Leonard told the Beacon. “It was especially meaningful to revive traditional events, which helped to reconnect the community with our rich heritage. The festival also fostered a strong sense of unity and community spirit, which is something we were really striving for.”
Ms. Leonard said organisers are already planning for next year, which will mark 250 years since the 1776 emancipation of 25 enslaved people at what is now Long Look Estate.
Boat races
The activities east of Road Town began Aug. 3, when more than a dozen speedboats showed up at Long Bay Beach on Beef Island for three races to memorialise recently deceased mariners who were active in local boating events.
Two days later, the festival village opened for the first time since the 2017 hurricanes, according to Ms. Leonard, who also chaired the committee last year.
“We haven’t had a festival village in a very long time,” Ms. Leonard said. “Last year, … we only had the j’ouvert and one small event.”
According to Ms. Leonard, while East End has hosted occasional smaller-scale processions in recent years, this month marked the return of a full parade with troupes and floats after several years without.
Compared to last year’s festival activities in East End, Ms. Leonard said this month’s success bodes well for the 2026 celebration.
“It’s something that we are really proud about, to be able to bring that back,” she said.
On the stage
After officials delivered remarks Tuesday evening for the opening of the William Penn Festiville, the volume was turned up for a growing crowd.
Playing into the morning, Xclusive Sounds, Banco Bizmol, Ridge & Dirty Dawg Pudaz, Gyptian and BOSS kept hundreds of festivalgoers entertained until the tramp started hours later.
The bass still bumping, hundreds of participants began the march just after 4 a.m., walking nearly two kilometres from Greenland to the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge that connects Tortola to Beef Island.
Ms. Leonard said she didn’t know the total number of participants, but the crowd following the two trucks included several hundred people.
“I know there was a large number [of people] behind the party truck,” she said. “And just looking forward ahead, there was a lot of persons towards the front as well.”
Parade
After the tramp concluded, some festivalgoers caught a nap while others transformed the streets into a spectacle of culture — donning elaborate costumes and readying floats for the afternoon’s procession.
Under the August sun, troupes brought culture to life. From St. Thomas arrived the Shaka Zulu Troupe, dazzling the crowd with vibrant feathered headdresses and richly pigmented face paint. The rhythms of the Shooting Stars Steel Band added musical flair and energy along parts of the route.
The day also featured multiple entries from pageant royalty and community groups. Long-standing fixtures such as Limpin’ Jack, school flag troupes and majorette units joined the line-up as well.