BVI Events Calendar: Regattas, Festivals and Full Moon Parties

British Virgin Islands

Every regatta, festival, full moon party and public holiday between November 2026 and July 2027 — what it is, where it is, and whether it is worth shaping a week around. Dates are confirmed where the organiser has published them and clearly marked where they have not.

• November
• December
• January
• February
• March
• April
• May
• June
• July
• Full moons
• Every week
• Live music

November 2026

• 1–30 Nov

  BVI Culture and Tourism Month

  Territory-wide

  An umbrella month with events posted piecemeal through November. Worth a look at the tourist board calendar once you have your dates.

• Sat 7 Nov

  Virgin’s Cup and Willy T RaceRace

  Finishing at the Willy T, The Bight, Norman Island

  Running since 1975, and every boat must have a woman on the helm. It finishes with a party at the Willy T, so you can watch the fleet come in from a mooring in The Bight and join the party ashore — or afloat.

• 10–13 Nov

  BVI Charter Yacht Show

  Tortola

  The trade show where crewed yachts are shown to brokers. Not a public event, but it fills marina berths and restaurants — book ahead if you are ashore those nights.

• Sun 15 Nov

  BVI Fungi Festival

  Tortola

  Traditional fungi-band music, the scratch-band sound of the islands. Part of Culture and Tourism Month.

• Mid NovCheck before planning

  Cooper Island Rum FestivalTo be confirmed

  Cooper Island Beach Club, Manchioneel Bay

  Hundreds of rums, local distributors and live music at the rum bar. It ran annually to 2023 and we can find nothing since. It was a BVI Food Fete event rather than Cooper Island’s own, and Food Fete has since cut back to four islands — Tortola, Anegada, Jost Van Dyke and Virgin Gorda — with no Cooper Island event among them, so treat it as finished unless Cooper tells you otherwise on 284 343 3529. The rum bar and the microbrewery are there all season either way.

• Sat 21 Nov

  Nanny Cay Round Tortola RaceRace

  Start and finish Nanny Cay, 09:00 to 17:30

  A full circumnavigation of Tortola. The fleet leaving Nanny Cay in the morning is a sight worth planning a first or last night around.

• Mon 23 Nov

  Great March of 1949Public holiday

  Territory-wide

  Customs and government offices closed. Clear in or out either side of it.

• 23–29 Nov

  Bitter End Thanksgiving WeekParty

  Bitter End Yacht Club, North Sound, Virgin Gorda

  A full week of daily events, each one published with a time on their own schedule. Thanksgiving Day itself has a Virgin Gorda Peak Turkey Trot at 10:00, a Hobie Cat race around Prickly Pear at 13:00, a sandcastle competition at 13:30 and the Annual Thanksgiving Family Regatta at 15:00. Around it: beach bonfires at 20:00, a kids-only regatta, guided reef snorkels, a mangrove paddle and family movie night on the beach. Ring the dock on 284 393 2745 to ask what visiting crews can join.

• Tue 24 Nov

  Full Moon PartyParty

  Trellis Bay Market, Beef Island

  Caribbean buffet from 18:00, fire dancer, Moko Jumbies and a band. See the full moon section below for the whole season.

• Thu 26 Nov

  Thanksgiving

  Foxy’s, Jost Van Dyke · Cardamom and Co., Scrub Island

  Foxy’s does a Thanksgiving dinner; Scrub Island serves 18:00 to 21:00 at $95 an adult, $65 under twelve. Both want booking.

• 27–29 Nov

  Anegada Lobster FestivalFood

  Anegada

  Three days of spiny lobster cooked every way the island knows, across the restaurants at Setting Point and beyond, with live music. The single best reason to make the trip out to Anegada in November — and the moorings go early.

• Sat 28 Nov

  Lighting of the Tree

  Tortola
• Sat 28 Nov

  Coral Bay Thanksgiving RegattaRace

  Coral Bay, St John, USVI

  Coral Bay Yacht Club’s long-running classic. Best watched from the Surf Club Cantina if your week starts or ends in the USVI.

December 2026

• 4–5 Dec

  Christmas in the City

  Road Town, Tortola
• Sat 5 DecConfirm by phone

  Lighting of the Christmas Tree

  Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbour, Spanish Town, 19:00

  Tree lighting and a concert, an easy walk from a Spanish Town berth or mooring. The listing carries a stale year in its body text, so ring ahead before you build a night around it.

• 11–12 Dec

  Christmas in Spanish Town

  Virgin Gorda

  Programme not published yet.

• Sat 19 Dec

  Commodore’s RaceRace

  Royal BVI Yacht Club, Road Town, 10:00

  Last race of the club year, followed by the Commodore’s Party and the annual awards.

• 24–25 Dec

  Christmas at Foxy’s

  Great Harbour, Jost Van Dyke

  Christmas Eve, then Christmas Day dinner.

• Thu 24 Dec

  Lighted Boat ParadeParty

  Bitter End Yacht Club, North Sound, Virgin Gorda

  Boats dress overall in lights and parade through the North Sound on Christmas Eve, Santa aboard, with prizes for the best decorated. Bitter End carry it on their own schedule for Thursday 24 December 2026, but no muster time is published — ring the dock on 284 393 2745 or email dock@beyc.com, which is how entries were taken in past years. Charter boats can enter, bareboats included. The same day they run a Christmas Eve hike up Virgin Gorda Peak at 10:00, a sandcastle competition at 13:30 and the Annual Christmas Eve Family Regatta from 15:00. There is nothing else like it in the BVI, and it is the best possible way to spend Christmas Eve on a boat.

• 25 and 28 Dec

  Christmas Day and Boxing DayPublic holiday

  Territory-wide

  Shops, customs and many restaurants closed. Provision before.

• Thu 31 Dec

  Foxy’s Old Year’s NightParty

  Great Harbour, Jost Van Dyke

  The Caribbean’s best-known New Year’s Eve party, and the busiest night of the year on BVI water. Great Harbour fills early — moorings are gone by the middle of the afternoon. It is ticketed in tiers, from general admission up to a sit-down dinner, and the upper tiers sell out well in advance. If you want to be there, book it before you book anything else.

• Thu 31 Dec

  New Year’s Eve at Trellis BayParty

  Trellis Bay Market, Beef Island

  The alternative to Foxy’s, and free to get in. Fire show, Moko Jumbies, steel pan, DJs, a champagne toast and fireworks at midnight. Trellis Bay is a calmer anchorage than Great Harbour on that night and far easier to get a spot in. Tables can be reserved through the market.

January 2027

• Thu 31 Dec

  New Year’s Eve at Bitter EndParty

  Bitter End Yacht Club, North Sound, Virgin Gorda

  The North Sound alternative to Great Harbour, and the close of a fortnight of holiday events that starts on 21 December. A hike up Virgin Gorda Peak at 10:00 and a sandcastle competition at 13:30 fill the day before it. Seventy-two moorings and twenty-six slips, and they go early.

• Fri 1 Jan

  New Year’s DayPublic holiday

• Sat 16 Jan

  Latitude 18 Halyard ChallengeRace

  Royal BVI Yacht Club
• Mid JanNot yet announced

  Painkiller CupTo be confirmed

  Trellis Bay to White Bay, Jost Van Dyke

  A fourteen-mile downwind stand-up paddle race in teams of three, rotating every twenty-five minutes, from Trellis Bay down Tortola’s north shore to finish in front of Hendo’s Hideout. There is also a two-and-a-half mile Mini-Painkiller from Sandy Cay that beginners can enter. The 2026 edition was Saturday 17 January. Note it has moved — this used to sit in May as part of HIHO week.

• Sat 30 Jan

  Manhattan Yacht Club ChallengeRace

  Royal BVI Yacht Club

February 2027

• Mid FebNot yet announced

  Sweethearts of the Caribbean and Classic Yacht RegattaTo be confirmed

  West End Yacht Club, out of Soper’s Hole

  Classic and traditional boats, and the best regatta of the season to watch rather than sail. The 2026 edition was 14 February; 2027 will be the forty-seventh.

• Early FebNot yet announced

  Jost Lime and DineFood

  Jost Van Dyke

  Weekend nights across fourteen Jost Van Dyke restaurants, from Great Harbour to White Bay, Diamond Cay and Little Harbour. In 2026 it ran from 14 February to a Glow Night finale on 14 March. Genuinely useful if you are moored in Great Harbour. For 2027 the tourist board’s own page says 1 to 30 May while Foxy’s has it in early February: February is the one with history behind it, so plan on February and confirm on (284) 442-1700 or jostlimeanddine@bvitourism.com. Book the table through the tourist board rather than the restaurant — in 2026 that booking was what got you the $20 return ferry from West End instead of $30, on late sailings laid on for the event. New Horizon’s standing fare is $30 one way, $40 return.

• Late FebNot yet announced

  Taste of Virgin GordaFood

  Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbour, Spanish Town

  Twelve restaurants, a tasting trail, a pop-up mixology bar and live music on the dock. The 2026 edition was 28 February, 17:00 to 22:00, at $120 a head, with a $25 return ferry package from Trellis Bay. A good reason to put a Spanish Town night in the week.

• Sun 14 Feb

  Valentine’s Day and the Big Game

  Foxy’s, Jost Van Dyke

  Valentine’s dinner and the Super Bowl land on the same day.

March 2027

• Mon 8 Mar

  H. Lavity Stoutt’s BirthdayPublic holiday

• Early MarNot yet announced

  Dark and Stormy RegattaTo be confirmed

  West End Yacht Club

  Usually the first or second weekend, over the Lavity Stoutt long weekend. The 2026 edition ran 7 to 9 March.

• Wed 17 Mar

  St Patrick’s Day

  Foxy’s, Jost Van Dyke
• Late MarNot yet announced

  North Sound Maxi RegattaTo be confirmed

  North Sound, Virgin Gorda

  Big-boat racing you can watch from a mooring at Leverick Bay, Saba Rock or Prickly Pear. The 2026 edition ran 20 to 24 March.

• 26 and 29 Mar

  Good Friday and Easter MondayPublic holiday

• Easter weekendParade expected Mon 29 Mar

  Virgin Gorda Easter FestivalTo be confirmed

  Spanish Town, Virgin Gorda

  Moko Jumbies, floats, drumming and masqueraders through Spanish Town, walkable from the yacht harbour. The parade falls on Easter Monday.

• 29 Mar–4 Apr

  BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing FestivalRace

  Nanny Cay, Tortola

  The fifty-fourth edition, and the territory’s biggest week of sailing. The Sailing Festival opens with the Scrub Island Race on Tuesday 30 March and the Nanny Cay Cup Round Tortola Race on Wednesday 31 March; Thursday is a lay day; the three-day regatta runs Friday 2 to Sunday 4 April. You can enter either half or all five days. Even if you are not racing, Nanny Cay is worth a night for the atmosphere — but book it. The opening Scrub Island Invitational, an eleven-mile friendly race finishing at Marina Cay with a beach party, is the one race on the calendar a bareboat crew can realistically enter.

April 2027

• 2–4 Apr

  BVI Spring Regatta race daysRace

  Nanny Cay, Tortola
• 8–11 Apr

  St Thomas International RegattaRace

  St Thomas Yacht Club, USVI

  Moved off Easter weekend for 2027, with a new wing-foiling class and a multi-day hundred-mile distance race and rally between St John, St Croix and St Thomas.

• Mid AprNot yet announced

  Agriculture and Fisheries ExhibitionFood

  Road Town Festival Grounds, Tortola

  Livestock and crops, goat soup and pumpkin punch competitions, greased pig and tug of war. A genuinely local day out, walkable from a Road Town berth. The 2026 edition ran 10 to 12 April.

• AprNot yet announced

  Wahoo ManiaTo be confirmed

  Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbour

  The Virgin Gorda Fishermen Cooperative’s one-day wahoo tournament, with the weigh-in on the dock at Spanish Town and proceeds going to their youth programmes.

• Sat 24 Apr

  Governor’s CupRace

  Royal BVI Yacht Club
• 24 Apr–1 May

  St Thomas CarnivalParty

  St Thomas, USVI

  J’ouvert on the waterfront, parades, pageants and a Carnival Village with calypso and reggae nights. Worth knowing about if your charter starts or ends in St Thomas — flights, taxis and town will all be busy.

May 2027

• Wed 5 May

  Cinco de Mayo

  Foxy’s, Jost Van Dyke
• Mon 17 May

  Whit MondayPublic holiday

• Sat 22 May

  BVI Dinghy ChampionshipsRace

  Royal BVI Yacht Club
• 29–31 May

  Foxy’s Wooden Boat RegattaRace

  Great Harbour, Jost Van Dyke

  Memorial Day weekend, and the best weekend of the year to be anchored at Jost. Traditional and wooden boats racing out of Great Harbour, with three days of parties ashore around it.

• Sun 30 May

  Leverick Bay Poker RunParty

  Leverick Bay, Virgin Gorda

  Powerboats run a set route and draw a card at each stop; the best five-card hand wins. Registration at 08:00 on the dock, away at 11:00, everyone back by 17:00, then an after-party and prize-giving. It draws heavily from Puerto Rico and the USVI, and has raised well over $190,000 for Virgin Gorda charities in twenty-odd years. North Sound will be busy.

• Late MayNot yet announced

  Drowned Island ChallengeTo be confirmed

  Anegada Beach Club, Anegada

  Two days and six events — two runs, two one-kilometre swims and two paddleboard races, finishing with a Beach Bar Mile. Teams of three and a junior category, so a charter crew can enter together. The 2026 edition was 30 to 31 May.

June 2027

• Sat 5 Jun

  Anegada Pursuit Race and RallyRace

  Royal BVI Yacht Club to Anegada

  The one race on the calendar a charter boat can realistically join — there is a cruising rally division alongside the pursuit race.

• Fri 11 JunSet by proclamation

  Sovereign’s BirthdayPublic holiday

  The date moves year to year. Confirm it closer to the time.

• Late JunNot yet announced

  BVI Wreck WeekTo be confirmed

  Territory-wide

  A week of wreck and artificial-reef diving run by the BVI dive operators — the Rhone, the Kodiak Queen and the Wreck Alley boats — with presentations, parties and operator discounts. The 2026 edition ran 21 to 27 June. The best week of the year to be here with a regulator.

• Late JunNot yet announced

  Taste of TortolaFood

  Queen Elizabeth II Park, Road Town
• Late JunNot yet announced

  Fisherman’s DayFood

  Long Bay Beach, Beef Island

  A fishing tournament with lines in at four in the morning, then a fish cook-off, barbecue competition, soldier-crab races for children and a sand-sculpture contest. Walkable from Trellis Bay.

• 27 Jun–4 Jul

  St John CelebrationParty

  Cruz Bay, St John, USVI

  St John’s carnival, marking emancipation in 1848 and US independence together. Parade, food village and fireworks over Cruz Bay on the fourth.

July 2027

• Sun 4 JulNot yet announced

  Firecracker 500To be confirmed

  West End Yacht Club
• Mon 5 Jul

  Virgin Islands DayPublic holiday

• Late JulNot yet announced

  Xmas in JulyParty

  Pond Bay, Virgin Gorda

  A raft-up beach party with BVI and Puerto Rican bands that drew four hundred boats and four thousand people in 2026, when it ran on the last Saturday of the month. One of the biggest days of the year on the water. Saba Rock and Scrub Island run their own Christmas in July events the same week.

• Last weekNot yet announced

  BVI Emancipation Festival opensTo be confirmed

  Road Town, Tortola

  The Festival Village, pageants and early shows open in the last week of July; the parade and the Emancipation holidays fall in the first days of August. The 2026 festival ran 23 July to 8 August.

The full moons

There is one full moon party in the British Virgin Islands and it is at Trellis Bay Market on Beef Island. It is held on the exact full moon, not moved to the nearest weekend. Caribbean buffet from 18:00 at $30 an adult and $20 a child, live music from six, fire dancer around a quarter past eight, Moko Jumbie around a quarter to nine, DJ after that. Moon Punch is poured on full moon nights only. Reservations on (284) 540-1421.

• 24 NovTUE
• 23 DecWED
• 22 JanFRI
• 20 FebSAT
• 22 MarMON
• 20 AprTUE
• 20 MayTHU
• 18 JunFRI
• 18 JulSUN

One to watch: Trellis Bay have not yet announced a December party. The moon falls on Wednesday 23 December, two nights before Christmas, and their events list currently stops at 24 November — while their New Year’s Eve party on 31 December is already posted. Worth a call on (284) 540-1421 before you build a night around it.

On every week, whatever the date

Where the music is, night by night

Confirmed weekly live music, with the bay named so you know where to put the boat. Venues post changes on Facebook rather than their own sites, and almost all of it is weather permitting, so treat this as where to start rather than a guarantee. Public holidays usually replace the regular programme.

Things people look for that are not there

Highland Spring HIHO, the week-long windsurf and paddle event, has not run since about 2017 — HIHO is a clothing brand now, and it sponsors the Painkiller Cup instead. The BVI Music Festival at Cane Garden Bay was cancelled in 2014 and has run only intermittently since, most recently as a scaled-down two-night event in June 2025; do not plan a week around it without checking. The BVI Kite Jam ended around 2012 and the Anegada Kite and Paddle Festival last ran in January 2020 — the Drowned Island Challenge has taken its place. The Jost Van Dyke Music Fest is now Jost Lime and Dine. The Beach-to-Beach Power Swim is a US Virgin Islands event, off St John, not a BVI one. There is no BVI Open Billfish Tournament; the territory’s billfish events are the Scrub Island Billfish Series and the North Drop Open, both in August, just past this calendar.

Compiled 3 November 2026 from the BVI Tourist Board, the Royal BVI Yacht Club, the BVI Spring Regatta, West End Yacht Club and the venues themselves. Dates move and events are cancelled — confirm anything you are building a week around directly with the organiser. The tourist board publishes most of the following year’s calendar in January, so items marked as unconfirmed here should firm up then.