BARVEN wants more markets included in Crop Over celebration

The president of the Barbados Association of Retailers, Vendors and Entrepreneurs (BARVEN) is calling for permanent market spaces to be more meaningfully included in future Crop Over programming, saying their absence from this year’s festivities highlights a missed opportunity.

Speaking to Barbados TODAY, Alister Alexander said that while the Crop Over season’s biggest street market event brought its usual energy to the Mighty Grynner Highway and included its Spring Garden venue, other major vending centres in Cheapside and Swan Street remained disconnected from the national celebration.

“The street mall, which they call Bridgetown Market, is a celebration of us,” he said. “But I still believe the markets themselves should have activities that reflect that celebration to show they are actually a part of it.”

Alexander revealed that the National Cultural Foundation (NCF) provided support to BARVEN this year, and said he hopes the relationship can deepen into a year-round partnership.

However, he stressed that more must be done to activate established market spaces during the season.

“Cheapside Market and Swan Street Market don’t have anything that says Crop Over,” he said. “The time when they are celebrating, there should be some kind of events inside there.”

The BARVEN top official argued that while indoor markets cannot host the same type of revelry seen on the streets, they can still stage cultural or entertainment activities that draw people in.

“I know that it’s different from a street thing and obviously, what happens on the road cannot happen there but they can have a programme in there that celebrates those markets [whether]  performances, cultural elements, something to draw people,” he said.

Alexander said engaging the island’s traditional markets during Crop Over could help to not only increase foot traffic but also preserve their cultural relevance in a rapidly evolving commercial landscape.

“This isn’t a fight [among vendors], it’s a celebration of us,” he said. “But all of us should be visibly part of that celebration.”

He is urging the NCF, vendors’ associations, and cultural planners to begin engaging earlier for the 2026 season, and to consider how permanent market spaces can be woven more intentionally into the festival’s fabric. (SM)