Statia Roots Festival

The Statia Roots Festival is a new multi-week celebration (May 25 – July 1) of Jewish and Afro-Caribbean heritage on Sint Eustatius 1 2. It features parades, Afro-Caribbean music and dance, storytelling, culinary events, and exhibitions honoring the island’s history from slavery to emancipation. Major days include African Liberation Day (Grand Opening on May 25), Stand Firm Day on June 12, and culminating Emancipation Day ceremonies 3 4. Residents and visitors gather to celebrate cultural pride, resilience, and identity with speeches, traditional concert performances, children’s activities, and historic reflections.

Sint Eustatius has a deep Afro-Caribbean legacy rooted in its past as a plantation and trading hub. After slavery was abolished in the Dutch kingdom in 1863, the Statian community retained strong African, Dutch, and Caribbean cultural elements. The Roots Festival was created to reconnect younger generations with this heritage, following traditions of Liberation Day (May 25) and Emancipation Day (July 1). It emphasizes Ancestral pride, community unity and the untold histories of Statia’s Afro-Caribbean population 1 2.