Set in the town where the original Charter of Barbados was written in 1652, Oistins Fish Festival celebrates the lively fishing community through music, entertainment, cultural events, local arts and crafts and events you would only find in Oistins.

Staple competitions like the Greasy Pole, Net throwing, Strong Man Boat Pull, Fish Boning and Dolphin Skinning are crowd favourites over the years, with other events such as the heritage walk, egg and spoon marathon, 5k Walk and Run, and the great tray race.

As the festival seeks to improve each year, newer events have been added to the roster to offer a more rounded calendar of events, with the right balance of history, culture, and crowd pleasers. Events such as the Celebrity Cook-Off and Celebrity Football matches, Sea Tuh Stove, Sip and Paint, the Easter Bonnet Making Workshop, Pan Riddim in de Bay, and Soca in de Bay, among others, have invigorated the festival with a jolt of energy.

Being Easter Weekend, we cannot forget the Blessing in de Bay Gospel Concert, the Easter Bonnet Parade, and the Bonnet Making Workshop, held before the festival to keep the tradition alive among younger generations.

In honour of the founder of the festival, the traditional commemorative lecture was transformed in 2022 to become the Sir Harold Bernard St. John Oistins Idea Lab; bringing fresh ideas in a TED-styled digital media format to encourage discussion around sustainablity and continued transformation geared toward the development of the Oistins fishing community and wider town as a whole. The vision is to have this idea lab function as a catalyst for new and innovative ideas to take not only Oistins but Barbados forward.