The Anegada Lobster Festival and British Virgin Islands events
The Anegada Lobster Festival takes the last weekend of November, the 27th to the 29th in 2026, and the island's few rooms go early. The rest of the British Virgin Islands year runs from the Spring Regatta to the Emancipation Festival in summer and Old Year's Night at Foxy's, and each of them is planned around the boat home.
Written by Virgin Islands Villas · Updated Oct 2026
The BVI calendar
| Name | When | Venue | What | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BVI Restaurant Week | Late October most years (October 20 to 24 in 2026); the 2027 dates are not published | Restaurants on Tortola, 13 in 2026 | Dinner-only prix fixe menus of two or three courses at $50 to $85, before gratuity; produced by the BVI Tourist Board & Film Commission | Oct 2026 |
| Full Moon Party at Trellis Bay Market | Monthly, on the night of the full moon; the Tourist Board lists each month's date | Trellis Bay Market, Beef Island, Tortola | Fireballs, Mocko Jumbies, fire dancers, live music, local art and a barbecue on the bay beside the airport | Oct 2026 |
| Anegada Lobster Festival | November 27 to 29, 2026 (the last weekend of November); restaurants to be announced | Restaurants across Anegada | Three days of spiny lobster dishes at the island's restaurants, with live music | Oct 2026 |
| Foxy's Old Year's Night | December 31, 2026 | Foxy's Tamarind Bar, Great Harbour, Jost Van Dyke | New Year's Eve on the beach with four bands, a host and a DJ; tickets $40 to $600 a person | Oct 2026 |
| BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival | March 29 to April 4, 2027 | Nanny Cay Resort & Marina, Tortola | The Scrub Island Race and the Round Tortola Race, a lay day, then three days of regatta racing; registration open | Oct 2026 |
| Virgin Gorda Easter Festival | Easter weekend (2026: food fair April 4, parade April 6); 2027 program not published | Spanish Town, Virgin Gorda | A cultural food fair on the Saturday and the Easter Parade on Easter Monday | Oct 2026 |
| Foxy's Wooden Boat Regatta | May 29, 2027, Memorial Day weekend | Great Harbour, Jost Van Dyke | Foxy's own regatta for wooden boats, on its 2027 events calendar | Oct 2026 |
| BVI Emancipation Festival | Late July to early August, the grand parade on the first Monday in August (2026: July 23 to August 8) | Across the territory | The summer festival of emancipation: parades, food fairs, pageants, music and sport | Oct 2026 |
The Anegada Lobster Festival, last weekend of November
The festival is a weekend of the island's spiny lobster at its restaurants, with music, on Anegada, the flat coral island north of Virgin Gorda. The BVI Tourist Board lists the dates and, as of October 2026, had not yet named the participating restaurants.
The tradeoff is the boat. The ferry from Road Town runs three days a week on a calendar that alternates by fortnight, the island's beds are few, and the Tourist Board itself tells visitors to book a room early. Settle the crossing and the house first, then the tables.
What happens at the Trellis Bay full moon party?
Once a month the Trellis Bay Market, on the bay beside the airport on Beef Island, holds the night the bay is known for: steel fireballs lit at the water's edge, Mocko Jumbies on stilts, fire dancers, live music and a barbecue of ribs, jerk chicken, grilled fish and lobster, per the Tourist Board's listing. It is the easiest of the territory's big nights to reach. The market is a 6 minute walk from the arrivals door by our measurement, so a late flight in can end there.
New Year's Eve in the BVI: Foxy's Old Year's Night
On December 31 Great Harbour fills for Old Year's Night at Foxy's Tamarind Bar, a beach bar since 1968 by its own account. Its 2026 night has The Wheeland Brothers, Maxx Cabello, GreenHouse Band and Triple Kay International, hosted by Heritage, and tickets run from general admission with cash bars at $40 to its Upper Crust Dinner at $600 a person.
Getting home is the plan to make first. The Customs and Immigration office on the Great Harbour jetty closes at 4:30 pm, per the Tourist Board, so a boat crossing from St. Thomas or St. John arranges after-hours clearance, with fees, or arrives in daylight.
The Spring Regatta and Easter on Virgin Gorda
Spring is the sailing season's set piece. The BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival is a week at Nanny Cay Resort & Marina, the Scrub Island Race and the race round Tortola, a lay day, then three days of racing, and its 2027 notice of race is out with registration open as of October 2026.
The Virgin Gorda Easter Festival fills Spanish Town over the Easter weekend: in 2026 the Cultural Food Fair was the Saturday and the Easter Parade the Monday, with roads closed for both. Easter Sunday 2027 is March 28, the day before the regatta week opens; the 2027 festival program was not out as of October 2026.
When is the BVI Emancipation Festival, the territory's carnival?
The Emancipation Festival is the British Virgin Islands' carnival, from late July into August. The territory's summer festival marks emancipation with parades, food fairs, pageants, music and sport over about two weeks, and the grand parade falls on the first Monday in August, per the Tourist Board. In 2026 it ran July 23 to August 8; the 2027 dates were not published as of October 2026.
Questions about events in the BVI
When is the Anegada Lobster Festival?
The last weekend of November. The BVI Tourist Board lists the 2026 festival for Friday, November 27, to Sunday, November 29, with the participating restaurants still to be announced as of October 2026. The Anegada ferry from Road Town runs three days a week on an alternating calendar, so book the crossing early.
When is the full moon party at Trellis Bay?
Monthly, on the full moon, at the Trellis Bay Market on Beef Island; the BVI Tourist Board lists each month's date. Expect fireballs, Mocko Jumbies, fire dancers and a barbecue.
How much are tickets for Foxy's Old Year's Night?
For December 31, 2026, Foxy's sells general admission at $40 bought early, plus $30 for its barbecue, and Outback VIP at $300, the Upscale Beach BBQ at $450 and the Upper Crust Dinner at $600 a person, on its ticket page as of October 2026.
When is the BVI Spring Regatta in 2027?
March 29 to April 4, 2027, at Nanny Cay on Tortola, per the regatta's notice of race: the week opens March 29, the Sailing Festival's two races follow on March 30 and 31, April 1 is a lay day, and the regatta races April 2 to 4.
Sources: BVI Tourist Board (checked Oct 16, 2026) · Government of the Virgin Islands (checked Oct 16, 2026) · BVI Spring Regatta (checked Oct 16, 2026) · Foxy's (checked Oct 16, 2026)