T he Illustrated Oxford Dictionary defines the word festival, somewhat succinctly, as " a day or period of celebration". In the Caribbean, that's a description that covers a lot of ground. And a lot of countries. And a whole lot of festivals. This is a part of the world where we have much to rejoice over. Our festivals range from religious celebrations that take participants back spiritually to the countries and continents their ancestors left centuries ago ( not always willingly, it has to be said), to bacchanalian orgies of music and dance to concerts that feature some of the biggest names in the entertainment world. 44 ZiNG July - September 2009 FESTIVALS ll In the Caribbean, festivals come in many shapes and forms. Some are based on religion, others celebrate bacchanal and good times, many attract the biggest names from the world of entertainment. Liesl Harewood explores a cultural phenomenon Dressing up for Trinidad Carnival; L ?? eft: ?? ?? ? T ?? he ?? fes ?? ti ??????????? val of Holi sees people throw coloured water, oils and powder on each other fever festival GETTY images

July - September 2009 ZiNG 45 " Carnival is the other C for us to be passionate about, along with Cricket and Christmas"