Barbados "Crop Over" Festival Nears Grand Finale

Crop Over is the biggest festival in Barbados, and is that island nation's version of Brazil's Carnival. Historically, the event marked the end of the sugar harvest, but now that tourism has well overtaken sugar production in the Bajan economy, it's become a great excuse to throw a five-week long summer party.

It's all about to come to a climax on Monday, August 2nd -- the end of Crop Over, also known as Grand Kadooment day. This is basically a giant parade of calypso bands, all dressed in wild costumes. It's a competition, and it's huge: last year 15,000 costumed people participated with 25 bands. And I'm quite sure that it's well fueled with one of Barbados' most enduring legacies of the sugar trade: rum.