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Where to Experience Gombey Performances

Beyond the days around Christmas, travellers can see performances by Gombeys in Bermuda all year-round. Some notable festivals to see Gombeys include:

New Year’s Day (Jan. 1)
A New Year’s tradition in Bermuda is for Gombey troupes to effectively take over the streets and fill the neighbourhoods with music and vibrant displays. Troupes often start on specific roads and traverse the neighbourhoods, much as they have done for generations.

Good Friday (March/April)
Bermuda’s Good Friday traditions include dining on codfish cakes and hot cross buns, as well as attending – or participating in – the Kite Festival at Horseshoe Bay Beach. While the locals fly their traditional kites made of ticks and tissue paper, Gombeys dance throughout the neighborhoods to celebrate the religious holiday.

Bermuda Day Parade (May)
The fourth Friday of May is set aside to celebrate Bermuda Day, which is the culminating event of Heritage Month and is widely considered the first day of summer here. The colourful parade filled with music, culture, and patriotic island pride winds through the City of Hamilton, with Gombey troupes, bands, and majorettes amongst the array of traditional and modern parade floats.

Harbour Nights (Summer)
Every Wednesday night in the summertime, the City of Hamilton opens up Front Street for a weekly street festival. During Harbour Nights, visitors can have fun at this pedestrian-only block party alongside locals enjoying the live music, cuisine, and vendors selling jewellery, art, and Gombey dolls. Of course, live performers include Gombeys filling the street.

Gombeys In the City (Summer)
If you miss Harbour Nights on Wednesday during your trip to Bermuda in the summer, you can still catch Gombey performances every Saturday afternoon during Gombeys In The City. The Place’s Gombeys troupe is a regular sight on Front Street, in front of the Bermuda marquee sign.